Persona: A Tale of Two Wild-Cards
by LuigiFan003
Summary: The following year after the Phantom Thieves saved the world, an old evil resurfaces. To combat this, Igor calls upon two new Wild-Cards to help save the world once again. (To avoid spoilers, only OC will be visible.)
1. Prologue Part 1: Buried Alive

**Authors Note**

**Hello, I'll be honest. This story has more to it than my Yo-kai Watch story, BUT that is due to the fact that this story has had more time on it than the other one (And by time, I mean this story has been on my computer since June 19****th****, while the other one was made on the 1****st**** of August.). Doesn't mean you shouldn't check my Yo-kai Watch story out, it just means that this story will have more 'meat' too it.**

**That's all I wanted to say before you started reading, I'll be quiet now… (But you may see some familiar faces here.) Please let me know how I did with spacing, as I've previously said, I'm still new to this.**

**?:** "**Don't make me come over there, kid. I swear I'll slap you if you say anymore spoilers than we agreed upon.**"

***sigh* Fine…**

Unknown Date, 2008

"…?" A single thought was in the metal husk's head.

"Where…am…I...?" It slowly asked, its voice being male. It heard someone chuckle, it tilted it's head up, and saw an old man with a long nose, pointy long ears, bloodshot eyes, and a huge grin on his face.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." The old man said, the robot didn't know how to process this.

"What's going on? Where am I?" It asked the old man. "That isn't relevant right now, my name is Igor, what is your name, young man?" Igor asked it.

The robot tried to think of its name, and found nothing. It searched its memory again, and again, and again, with the same result. "I…I don't know my name…" It told Igor sadly, Igor's grin turned into a frown.

"You don't remember your name?" Igor asked the robot, was Igor alarmed by its answer?

The robot shook its head, Igor looked perplexed. "This place exists within dream and reality, mind and matter. It should not block memories from you here… What could have caused this phenomenon, I wonder?" Igor openly asked, addressing no one in specific.

The robot was about to ask Igor a question when it heard something strange.

"Is that…? Is someone digging a hole or something?" The robot asked Igor, Igor regained his smile and closed his eyes.

"So, THIS is how your journey will start… Interesting…" Igor said, the digging getting louder.

"What are you talking about?!" The robot spat, it could feel steam coming out of its ears.

"When we meet again, my future guest, will you have a name to sign the contract with, I wonder?" Igor said cryptically, accompanied with a chuckle.

The robot was about to give Igor a piece if it's mind when he and the Velvet Room faded away and the robot lost consciousness.

BANG! The robot felt something slam into its head.

"OW! I might be a robot, but I have feelings you know!" The robot exclaimed, hearing a woman gasp at its outburst.

"What the? You can communicate?" The woman asked the robot, the robot irritably nodded.

"I've never found something like YOU before…" The woman said, probably wondering what to do with the robot she unearthed…wait. UNEARTHED?!

The robot looked around and discovered that it was in a hole, and if the woman hit it, then it had been buried by someone!

"Hold on, dear. Let's get you out of the ground first." The woman said, readying her shovel again.

It felt like hours but it only took fifteen minutes for the woman to dig the robot up and help it out of the hole.

The robot was six foot two, had semi-long brownish hair, white face, and blueish-green eyes. Its body was shaped like a male, maybe a young adult or adult? But it had joints where it's shoulders would be and where it's upper legs would connect to its lower body, it DID have feet but they were literally just different colored sections of metal (It's legs, arms, and body were white, where it's feet would be there was gray chunks of smoothed metal that followed the legs.), it's neck looked like a normal persons neck, and the same thing with its hands, it just looked like it had white gloves on.

"What's this?" The woman said, holding up a metallic fedora. The robot suddenly had a flashback of a woman, maybe it's creator(?), giving it the hat.

"I think that's mine…? Sorry, my memory is all sorts of messed up… What year is it? 1999?" The robot asked the woman, she looked shocked.

"No, it's 2008." Oh…WHAT?!

"H-How!? It's been nine years!?" The robot didn't know what to do, it KNEW that time must have passed, but NINE YEARS?!

"Do you have a name, honey?" The woman asked, the robot shook its head. "Not one I remember at least." The robot said.

"Well… That dent in your head might explain your memory loss, or corruption in your case." WAIT, WHAT!?

The robot felt its head, and sure enough there was an enormous dent in its head. "…" The robot didn't know what to say, it was focused on finding out who…did this…to…him…!

All the robot could see was a man in a tan jacket over a brown turtleneck standing over him, long wavy brown hair, goatee, glasses, and those eyes, those dark brown eyes… A shovel…and then nothing.

"Hey…HEY! Are you ok?" The woman was shaking the robot.

"Sorry… I just remembered who did this to me." The robot said.

"Well? Who was it?" The woman asked it.

"I… I don't remember the bastards name, probably thanks to the dent he gave me with his shovel." The robot said, its hands curling into fists.

"Hey, my husband is a mechanic, he can probably fix you up." The woman said, the robot felt…on edge from the sudden kindness.

"Um…" The robot said, the woman realized how suspicious she sounded.

"Hey, I know that you don't trust me, but I'm just trying to help you." The woman explained. The robot didn't know WHO to trust, BUT the woman DID dig him up…

"…Ok, I'll come with you. And thank you, ma'am." The robot said, bowing to the woman.

The woman led the robot to her truck, the robot laid in the back, its eyes closed and tried not to move, and the woman drove to her home in Yongen-Jaya.

"Honey! Look what I found!" The woman exclaimed, trying to carry the robot.

"Psst! Can I move now?" The robot asked, the woman nodded.

The robot followed the woman into the house, it was a two-story building with a decent bit of land in the back and a garage that looked like a mechanics workshop.

"Well, what did you dig up this…" A man that the robot assumed was the woman's husband said until he saw the robot and stopped dead in his tracks.

"…WHAT THE!?" The man exclaimed as he ran over to his wife and the robot.

"Um… Hello sir." The robot said, bowing afterward.

"Honey… Where did you find him? Please tell me you didn't steal him…?" The man hesitantly asked his wife.

"No, I found him! I heard beeping near where I was digging and I found the poor thing buried and damaged." The woman explained, specifically pointing out the dent in the robot's head.

"Look, do you know who made you so we can contact them and return you?" The man asked the robot.

"Well… I DO know who made me, it's one of the few things I remember, but I'm not so sure I wanna go back there." The robot said, the man's face turned to a look of anger and confusion.

"What do you mean 'I'm not so sure I wanna go back there'?! Are you some sort of criminal or something!?" The man demanded, why are the robot's knees knocking together?

"Honey, you're scaring him!" The woman spat, she tried comforting the robot.

Wait, what was that sound?

"HEY! What are you doing?!" The man demanded, the robot started panicking, it was looking at the woman's chest and it couldn't move its head back up, the woman WAS a little shorter than the robot, but not short enough to make its gears lock up.

"I don't know! The gears in my neck locked up! I quite literally can't look away!" The robot explained quickly as it tried to forcefully move its head to prove it's point.

"Huh? Wait, let me try something." The woman said, she backed up out of the robot's view.

There's that sound again!

"I knew it! Poor thing, that awful man must have messed with your wiring when he hit you… You can't look at someone's chest or your neck will lock up." The woman explained, it made sense to the robot. And it was confirmed when the same thing happened when the man did the exact same thing.

"What in the world? Ok, back on topic, why don't you want to tell me who made you?" The man asked, the hostility gone from his voice.

"I…I think that the man that buried me works or worked at the company that built me." The robot explained. The man's face changed to a look of pity.

"Hm… Well in that case…" The man started pacing, trying to figure out what to do with the robot.

"Well… I was thinking that we could adopt him. I mean, he has nowhere else to go AND he's damaged AND I know someone that could help us with the adoption papers." The woman told her husband, wait, adopt?

"WHAT! I mean…" The man looked at the robot, and then to his wife.

Then the man sighed.

"Ok, fine. But before both of you get your hopes up, there's some ground rules we need to address. One: Until you are around the age for someone to normally enter seventh grade, you're gonna hide here and we'll home school you. Two: You're gonna have to pull your own weight here, like get a job for example. Three: Don't get into too much trouble. And four: Act like a normal kid AND keep us in the loop about stuff. I'll fix you up and everything, I'll even help you disguise yourself as a normal person, but you have to help us out if you want to stay here. OK?" The man said, the robot nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for helping me sir, and thank you as well ma'am." The robot said, bowing to the two.

"Jeez, at least you're polite. And my name is Sakura Mamori, call me either that or something a son would say to address his father please." Mr. Mamori said. "And my name is Sayaka Mamori." Mrs. Mamori said.

"Ok, I'll be honest, it'll be weird for me to call someone mom or dad, but I'll try my best to be a normal son." The robot said.

"Now… What to name you…" Mr. Mamori said out loud, Mrs. Mamori just chuckled.

"How about Kaito? Kaito Mamori." Kaito, huh?

The robot…no, Kaito liked the name.

"I like it, Kaito Mamori. It rolls off the tongue." Kaito cheerfully said to its…no, HIS adoptive parents.

"Well, Kaito it is then!" Mr. Mamori said, Kaito hugged his parents.

This was a step in the right direction for Kaito, over the years Kaito fixed and upgraded himself thanks to his adoptive father and eased into a 'normal' life, getting a job at Munehisa Iwai's shop and befriending the man, making friends with high schoolers, and overall have a good second chance at life.

But the past ALWAYS comes back to haunt people, in Kaito's case, it would terrorize him with its presence being missing from the robot's memory in the most terrorizing of ways.

The only thing that it gave to alert Kaito, was the fact that he couldn't dig, whenever he tried, it was like an invisible box stopped his hand from getting anywhere close to the ground.

It annoyed him immensely, but he couldn't fix it no matter how hard he tried.

And the worse part of it all was the robot found a love for gardening, but could only perform his passion virtually.

**So… Who do YOU think will be part of the team in this story? I'm curious to see what you guys will guess. I WILL say if you guessed correctly, but I'll say that the other teammates are OC's of mine and-**

**?: **"**Oh for the love of, SHUT UP PLUMER BOY! You've said too much as is! Don't make me come over there!**"

**Ok, OK! Jeez, I'll actually be quiet now…**


	2. Message to the Reader

**Hello! I probably should of put this as the first entry of the story, but here we are. **

**So, I shall TRY to be as on point with the facts with the Persona series as possible, SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I MESSED SOMETHING UP!**

**I hope you enjoy the story!**


	3. Prologue Part 2: 9 Years Later

**Authors Note**

**Heyo! I'm back with the second part of the prologue!**

**?: "Too much energy, this kid... I swear..."**

**Oh shut it! Let me savor the moment, will ya!**

**?: "Fine... It's YOUR story... I guess..."**

**Sorry about him-**

**?: "SPOILERS! WHAT DID WE TALK ABOUT!?"**

**OK, OK! Sorry... SOMEONE didn't want me to spill any genders of the Persona's, *cough* MY PERSONA *cough*.**

**?: "THAT'S IT! YOU'VE ASKED FOR IT!"**

***SHING***

**Uh... CUT TO THE STORY! CUT TO THE STORY!**

Monday, April 10th, 2017

"Yo! Sakamoto-senpai! Wait up, dang it!" Kaito shouted as he ran to catch up with his blond-haired upperclassman.

"Hey Kaito-kun! What's up man!" Sakamoto-senpai said as he finally noticed Kaito running towards him.

Ryuji Sakamoto was a star runner for their school's track team, before Kamo-Shit Head broke his leg and got the track team disbanded, it is starting to come back, but no one could forget the rumor's turning Ryuji into a delinquent.

Kaito caught up with Ryuji, huffing from exhaustion (He had gotten the act perfected) and noticed a lighter blond-haired girl with bushy pigtails and parted side bangs on the right side of her face walking with them.

"Oh my gosh! It's been forever since I've seen you, Kaito-kun!" Takamaki-senpai said, Kaito recognized her immediately, and facepalmed for not seeing her sooner.

"Takamaki-senpai! It's great to see you! And yeah, it has been a bit." Kaito said, (feigning) catching his breath again.

"U-Um… Guys? W-Who is this?" A girl with orange hair and glasses said, Kaito didn't recognize her, she must be a friend his upperclassmen made last year.

"Oh crap! Sorry Futaba, this is-" Ryuji started but Kaito cut him off, extending his hand to the girl.

"Kaito Mamori, second-year. Nice to meet ya!" Kaito cheeringly said, the girl hesitantly shook his hand.

"S-Same to you, I-I'm Futaba Sakura. I'm starting high school today." Futaba-chan said, Kaito saw that she wasn't comfortable, he guessed it was some kind-of social disorder(?) he was never good at guessing problems like that.

"Ah, I remember my first-year at Shujin, my upperclassmen helped me get my bearings, now it's my turn to help you!" Kaito said, Futaba looked relieved, and Sakamoto-senpai and Takamaki-senpai looked pleased as well.

"Ha! Same old Kaito!" Sakamoto-senpai said as he elbowed Kaito (The metal body Kaito had thankfully simulated a human body) in the shoulder.

"Ow! Ha, glad some things are still the same, it's gonna be weird when you two and Mishima-senpai leave though… It'll be weird enough with Nijima-senpai and Okumura-senpai gone as is…" Kaito sadly said, he would miss the ex-student council president and the girl who reignited his love for gardening again, and then there was Suzui-senpai…

Kaito started crying (A function he installed himself) at the memory of his upperclassman jumping off the school roof in an attempt to kill herself after what Kamo-Shit Head did to her… Kaito felt his hands curl into fists.

"Mamori-senpai?" Kaito was pulled back to reality by Futaba-chan's voice.

"S-Sorry, I just remembered a bad memory." Takamaki-senpai instantly knew what Kaito was thinking about.

"It's about Shiho, isn't it?" Kaito nodded.

"I'm glad that she's ok, but what HE did to her is not something that you just forget OR forgive." Kaito spat out, hate coating his words.

"Well, what's done is done. And either way, the Phantom Thieves took care of Kamoshida. Now, let's get going or we'll be late." Sakamoto-senpai said, the students nodded and started walking towards Shujin Academy.

At the gate though, Kaito saw the transfer student from last year waiting by it. "A-Akira!?" The three students said as they ran and tackled the poor guy.

"Jeez, it's nice to see you guys too." Kurusu-senpai said. The students broke up the hug, Akira messing with his messy, black hair. And…was that a cat in Kurusu-senpai's bag?

Kaito wasn't going to say anything, BUT it was weird that the cat was even there at all.

"So, who's this?" Kurusu-senpai asked Sakamoto-senpai, nodding to Kaito.

"That's Kaito Mamori, he's a second-year now, but I've known him since I was a first-year here." Sakamoto-senpai explained, Kurusu-senpai nodded and extended his hand out to Kaito.

"Akira Kurusu, nice to meet you, Kaito-kun." Kaito nodded and shook his senpai's hand.

"And who's this little guy?" Kaito said, addressing the cat in the bag.

"That's Morgana, Mona is fine too." Kurusu-senpai said, Kaito couldn't help but pet Morgana, funnily enough, Morgana started meowing angrily, causing all of the students to laugh.

"Jeez, I guess Morgana's not a fan of petting." Kaito said in a joking matter. In reality, Morgana talked, and it wasn't a meow.

Morgana said, "'Little guy'?! Who is this punk?!" Futaba-chan picked Morgana up.

"Now Mona, be nice." Morgana meowed again, he said, "Fine… Something's weird about this guy though. I'm not sure WHY, but something's just…off about him."

Kaito was glad he couldn't sweat, because he would be sweating buckets. Whatever Morgana was, he could somehow sense that Kaito wasn't human, Kaito was glad that Morgana didn't put two and two together though.

"So, what are you doing here, man? I thought you were done with your probation?" Sakamoto-senpai asked Kurusu-senpai.

"I somehow convinced my parent's too let me finish high school here, you guys should have seen Sojiro's face when I walked into Leblanc." That got a laugh out of the student's, minus Kaito.

"We even made a deal, I help him with the café, he'll let me stay in the attic again."

"Attic?" Kaito thought as he eavesdropped on his friend's conversation, he didn't get a chance to hang out with any of his friends last year, and it looks like he found out why. He could tell a deep friendship when he saw one, Kaito wasn't jealous, but he did want some answers.

"Ok, let's talk later. We DO have school today." Kurusu-senpai said, earning him a groan from Sakamoto-senpai, but they did as he said and headed into the school building.

The school day mainly consisted of catching up with Mishima-senpai and Yoshizawa-san, showing Futaba-chan around, and hanging out with Kurusu-senpai, Sakamoto-senpai, Takamaki-senpai, and Morgana.

The rest of the day flew by, Kaito was walking and talking with his friends when he ran into something, Kaito looked in front of him and saw a girl with short, blond hair, dark blue eyes, and some sort of headband that reminded Kaito of headphones, but it sure wasn't a pair of headphones.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you up." Kaito said as he extended his hand out to help the girl, she took his hand and he helped her up.

"Thank you." The girl said, it sounded robotic, but at the same time alive. "Sorry again, my name's Kaito Mamori, and yours miss?" The girl looked like she figured out something.

"My name is Aigis." Kaito almost gasped, Aigis was the name for an older Anti-Shadow Weapon, and Kaito just KNEW she ran into him on purpose.

"Hey Kaito-kun? Do you know her?" Takamaki-senpai asked him, Kaito didn't get a chance to respond when a girl with blueish gray hair and pale skin ran up to them.

"Hey Sis! Did ya…" The girl stopped when she saw Kaito, and Kaito instantly recognized her as Labrys, another Anti-Shadow Weapon…JUST GREAT!

"Hey! It's been a while Kaito-san!" Labrys said as she elbowed Kaito gently.

"Hey guys, I'll catch up with you all later." Kaito said in an annoyed tone.

"Alright, we'll see you tomorrow Kaito-kun!" Sakamoto-senpai said, his friends left the three robots there.

"So, ya gonna come quietly or not?" Labrys asked Kaito, ready to knock him out if necessary.

"No, I'll come quietly…" Kaito said sadly, he knew he wasn't going to get out of this. Kaito knew exactly where he was going, and going into a Kirijo Group building solidified his theory. And sure enough, there was the red-haired leader of the company.

"Hello Kaito-kun." Said Mitsuru Kirijo, the daughter of the man that employed the man that buried him all those years ago.

Kaito was…well, he wasn't mad, he couldn't be. Mitsuru was only a kid at the time when everything went down, and Kaito knew that her father didn't intentionally hire an evil man, so he couldn't be mad at her. Annoyed? Yes. Mad? No.

"Hi, Mitsuru-san." Kaito said through clenched teeth, he did this to show he wasn't mad, but VERY annoyed.

"You don't have to be formal, I think you earned the privilege." Mitsuru said.

"Well, at least SOMEBODY from your company is treating me like a person. Sorry, I'm just a little sore from my previous interactions with the Kirijo Group." Kaito said, trying to keep his cool. Mitsuru nodded in understanding.

"Yes, your annoyance is understandable. I honestly can't imagine what you've been through." Kaito was honestly shocked that Mitsuru was owning up to his and his fellow Anti-Shadow Weapons abuse, or at least his.

"…Ok, so Mitsuru. Why am I here?" Mitsuru motioned for Kaito to sit down, and he did, followed by Aigis and Labrys.

"I would like to offer you a position with the Shadow Operatives." Kaito was shocked that Mitsuru just flat out said it, and Kaito had already been thinking about joining the Kirijo Group after he got a proper education anyhow… BUT his motto rang true for this exact event.

"Well… For now, the answer is no." Mitsuru looked like she expected Kaito's response, while Aigis and Labrys were shocked.

"The reason being a motto I came up with that kept me going all these years, you want to know what that motto is?" Mitsuru nodded, intrigued. While Aigis and Labrys looked like they knew what he was gonna say.

"'Learn your past after in the present you have a successful future', THAT is what has kept me going all these years. And I won't break my motto now." Kaito said sternly, Mitsuru nodded knowingly.

"I expected that response, however, I'm going to break that motto of yours a bit." Mitsuru said, and Kaito expected that response from her.

"Your Unit number was 037, your model name: Excalibur." Kaito made sure to catalog his Unit number and model name into his memory.

"Well, I think I'll allow that info to pass." Kaito said with a smile.

"So, does that mean we can't hang out with our little brother?" Labrys said goofily to Kaito.

"No, I'll be sure to schedule something with you two soon. And two things: One, please don't pull the same stunt you two did today in front of my friends, I can't afford the chance of getting exposed. And two, please don't call me 'little brother' or so help me I will start calling you two Onii-chan so fudging fast your heads 'll spin." That got a laugh out of Labrys and surprisingly Aigis as well.

"Ok, it is nice to have a 'family reunion' and all, but can I go? Mrs. Mamori is probably worried about me, knowing her." Kaito asked, Mitsuru nodded. Kaito said goodbye to Aigis and Labrys and started to leave, but Mitsuru stopped him.

"But, before you go…" Mitsuru handed Kaito a briefcase, "…I think you should take this, it's not your original weapon, but it should work either way." Kaito was confused, but he could take a guess at what was in the briefcase.

Kaito thanked Mitsuru, she gave him her number in case he changed his mind, again, Kaito expected this to happen. Kaito went straight home, and like he thought Mrs. Mamori was worried sick about him, and surprisingly so was Mr. Mamori. Kaito told the two who took him in the information he had learned today.

"Wow… That's a lot to take in…" Mrs. Mamori said after Kaito was done telling the couple what he learned, Mr. Mamori shook his head.

"It's hard to believe, but then again it fits." Kaito's adoptive father said finally. Kaito agreed and said that he was going to bed, if you could call a makeshift Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon charger a bed at least.

Kaito woke back up in a…graveyard? The world had a blue tint too it, and there was the long-nosed old man again, sitting on a bench with a desk in front of him.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor said, the old man's grin and bloodshot eyes still the same from back then.

"Well, well, well. It's just one old friend after another today." Kaito said, earning him a chuckle from Igor.

"Let me guess… You want me to sign that contract from before now, right?" Igor clapped at Kaito's correct guess.

"Yes, you and her will make very interesting guests."

Wait…_her_?

"All your questions will be answered in time, but first…" Igor snapped his fingers, a contract appeared out of thin air right in front of Kaito, and a pen was somehow in his hand.

"…I believe you know what to do." Igor said, Kaito signed his name on the contract.

"And with that, the contract is sealed." Igor snapped his fingers again and the contract vanished.

"Ok, now can you explain what's going on here please?" Kaito asked, Igor shook his head.

"That, my guest, I cannot fully say. However, I can tell you this." Igor motioned for Kaito to sit down, Kaito obliged, curious on what the old man had to say.

"Your role in this event is one of great importance." Igor said, Kaito was confused at the statement.

"What is my 'role' then?" Kaito asked, Igor snapped his fingers again, and something flashed before Kaito's eyes.

"_Persona Potential Sensor installed, activate using application on phone._" Kaito was shocked, how did Igor do that exactly? Kaito made sure that absolutely NO ONE could hack him, so how did Igor do it?

"Impressed?" Igor asked Kaito. "Yeah, extremely so." Igor chuckled again.

"We are in your mind, it would make sense for me to do something like that." Kaito was flabbergasted, this graveyard was in his head?

"I promise you, all will make sense in time. Now, regarding your role as a Wild-Card and seeker of others with the potential of Persona…"

Igor started, and Kaito braced himself for the crazy that would DEFINATLY come out of Igor's mouth.

"That app I gave you will allow you to find current and potential Persona users. As for your role as a Wild-Card, you have the ability to wield multiple Persona's, your Wild-Card abilities are different from normal Wild-Card's, however. Yours are more…scripted, so to speak." Igor said, Kaito caught Igor's emphasis on 'scripted'.

"What do you mean by 'scripted'?" Kaito asked, Igor closed his eyes.

"Your Persona's are already within you, unlike other Wild-Cards, who can change their Persona's freely with infinite possibilities, you only have finite possibilities. However, in exchange for finite possibilities, you can use more Persona's than the normal Wild-Card could AND use multiple Persona's at once." Kaito was intrigued even more so now, but Kaito realized something horrifying.

"Wait, I couldn't summon a Persona at all, even now I can't do it. And based on what I know about Shadows… Does that mean…?" Igor nodded his head sadly.

"Yes, you, my guest, must face your Shadow, the very thing you were created to fight, to unlock your Wild-Card abilities fully." Kaito cursed his luck, but that fact explained a LOT about his lack of Persona capabilities.

"However, you DO have access to a very strong Persona already, which explains this." Igor snapped his fingers, and a tarot card appeared in front of Kaito, one side was a black and white jester with the word's 'Le Mat' on it, and the other side was a skull on a door with the roman numeral for '13' on it.

"The Fool and Death, walking hand in hand. Intriguing, isn't it?" Igor asked Kaito, Kaito knew deep down that these two Arcana's fit him almost perfectly, as a robot and a Wild-Card, he fit the requirements of the Fool. And as for Death, he was plagued with it and destined to be surrounded by it due to him being a robot, and for crying out loud he was buried alive!

But Death also meant a 'deep change' and 'metamorphosis' or something like that, and didn't Death also mean for 'regeneration' and 'cycles'? Kaito only fit SOME of Death's requirements, not all of them. Igor chuckled.

"Now, on to the second reason for me calling you here…" Igor snapped his fingers, and a girl with long, brown hair appeared.

Two sentences floated above her.

"_Nanako Dojima, age: 11, Cousin of Past Guest, Wild-Card: Yes. Shadow Present: Yes._" Kaito was confused, why did Igor show him a hologram of this Nanako girl? Kaito could understand she was the other Wild-Card and was probably the 'stereotypical' one between the two of them, but why was Igor showing him her hologram?

"Ms. Dojima will need a guide during her journey, as do you to find your way again. As such, I would like you to assist and protect her during this journey."

Oh…OH.

Now it made sense why Igor would show him a picture of Nanako, if Kaito was going to protect her, he needed to know what she looked like. But Kaito was worried by two parts of the sentence's above the hologram Nanako's head. 'Cousin of Past Guest' and 'Shadow Present: Yes'.

"My, my. You catch on quick." Igor said.

"Well, can you explain the 'Cousin of Past Guest' part to me? I already know where the Shadow thing is going." Kaito asked, causing Igor to chuckle again.

"Without saying too much, a past guest of mine crossed paths with her and gave her the potential as well. But that's not what you're getting at, you're worried about my past guest getting involved with his friends, correct?" Igor said, Kaito nodded, the old man caught him red handed.

"I already informed him of the situation and asked him and his friends to not interfere, but knowing my guest, he most certainly will interfere as will his friends." Igor said, Kaito groaning at the cards dealt to him, but this 'Past Guest' may listen to him, but then again Nanako is a younger kid, and he knows how protective family can be.

"Oh boy, tomorrows gonna be fun." Kaito said as he massaged his temple, he may be a robot but that doesn't mean he can't get a headache. Igor chuckled again.

"I can tell that you and her will truly be interesting guests already." On that note, Igor and the Velvet Room faded away.

**Ow...**

**?: "I warned him..."**

**SURE you did...**


	4. Another Message to the Reader

**Hi, I know 'why is there ANOTHER message from the author?'**

**?: "HA!"**

**Shut it or I'll say your name.**

**?: "Fine…"**

**So, from here we'll get into the BIG stuff! And since we're here, I thought I should say some-**

**?: "AGAIN WITH THIS!?"**

**SHUT IT, Sir-**

**?: "OK, OK!"**

**Ok… Where was I?**

***shuffling of papers***

**Ah! *ahem***

**-important stuff before you guys continue. If I messed something up from the lore (By this I mean changed something that CAN'T be changed) please let me know.**

**(Sorry if I repeat myself.)**

**If I messed up some honorifics, again please let me know.**

**Now as the final thing before you go, should I upload in-game dates OR should I wait until I finish the whole chapter and then upload it all together? Please let me know via review!**

**?: "Are you done?"**

**Yes, I'm done.**

**?: "Good, let's get this show on the road!"**

…**Technically it already has.**

**?: "YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"**


	5. Chapter 1: Haunted by the Past

**Authors Note**

**?: "Yeah, so Mr. Plumer Boy over here didn't check the article BEFORE adding it the first time. Sorry about that, I slapped him for you all."**

**Ow... Can't a guy make a mistake every now and then?**

**?: "YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD CHECK AND DIDN'T."**

***sigh* Fine... You're right about that...**

**Sorry about that everyone.**

**?: "FYI, He almost did it again."**

**Oh shut it! I fixed it!**

**Also, (Sorry about not acknowledging this, AGAIN, I'M NEW TO THE PLATFORM) thanks for following KittyBard194!**

Tuesday, April 11th ,2017

Kaito woke up and checked his phone, sure enough the Persona Potential Sensor app was there.

"Well, may as well see if the thing works." Kaito said as he activated the app, his eye's adjusted, and he looked in the mirror.

"At least my eyes are the same, so my cover's safe… Hopefully I don't run into Igor's 'Past Guest' today, otherwise I am toast!" Kaito said to himself. Kaito said goodbye to his adoptive parents and headed off to school, while also looking for potential Persona users and Nanako as well.

Kaito didn't find squat until he almost reached school. His eyes highlighted a gray-haired man, not an old man, just an adult with gray hair, walking past him as 'Yu Narukami'…A Wild-Card…OH GOD! Kaito kept his cool and kept on walking…until a long, brown-haired girl tried to get his attention.

"Excuse me, mister? Do you know where my cousin went? He has gray hair, but that's just his natural hair color." Nanako Dojima asked Kaito. "

Oh! Um… I think I saw him walking to where I was coming from." Kaito said, pointing Nanako in the right direction.

"Thanks mister!" Nanako said as she ran after her cousin.

"Man, that was close." Kaito thought to himself. Kaito sighed, pulled out his phone, and turned the app off.

"I'll look again after school." Kaito muttered to himself as he entered the school building. The day flew by and Kaito was about to leave until he saw Suzui-senpai, the world just kind-of stopped.

"Hey Kaito-kun, long time no see." Suzui-senpai said.

"Call me weird all you like, but permission to hug you, senpai?" Kaito asked. Shiho couldn't help but laugh.

"Permission granted." Kaito hugged his senpai, he couldn't help it, the last time he saw Suzui-senpai she was on a stretcher being put into an ambulance with Takamaki-senpai going with her.

Kaito absentmindedly turned on the Persona Potential Sensor app and stopped hugging his senpai, almost falling over from shock.

Shiho Suzui was a candidate for being a Persona user.

"Uh… Kaito-kun?" Kaito snapped back to reality. "Sorry, Suzui-senpai. I guess I'm more emotional than I thought. Either that or I was off in la la land." That made Suzui-senpai laugh.

"Well, I'm glad you're still the same old Kaito." Suzui-senpai said cheerfully.

"Suzui!" Kaito turned around and nearly fell over from shock again, Yuuki Mishima also had the potential of being a Persona user.

What in the actual heck is going on here?

"Hey! Kaito-kun! Hello!" Kaito snapped back to reality again.

"Sorry, either I'm too emotional or I'm off in la la land right now." Kaito said, hoping Mishima-senpai didn't interrogate him more.

"Ha, same old Kaito with the same old problems!" Mishima-senpai said as he elbowed Kaito.

"So… Do you guys want to hang out? We haven't in so long." Suzui-senpai asked the two boys, Kaito and Mishima nodded, so the three headed over to Akihabara's Gigolo arcade to hang out.

Believe it or not, that's where the three first met.

Kaito forgot to turn off the Persona Potential Sensor off and was shocked to see two more potential Persona users playing Gun About, but in all honesty, Kaito was more shocked at WHO the candidates were.

'The King' Shinya Oda and Shogi Player Hifumi Togo, why the heck were those two potential Persona users? Then again, Nanako IS 11 years old, so she is in the same boat as Shinya.

"Yo! It's been a while, you three!" Shinya said, walking over to the three high schoolers.

"Yeah, it has been a bit, King. Still the champ at Gun About I see." Kaito said, pointing out the score from Shinya's game with Hifumi.

"OH! Hi again mister!" Kaito turned around and saw Nanako smiling at him.

"Oh, hello again! Did you catch up to your cousin?" Kaito asked her, Nanako nodded.

"Aww! What's your name, sweetie?" Suzui-senpai asked Nanako.

"Nanako Dojima, I'm in 5th grade." Nanako said.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Nanako-chan!" Mishima-senpai said. "Hmm…" Hifumi was politely waiting for Shinya to start a rematch.

"Hey! There's room for more players, how about a group match?" Kaito suggested, the group nodded in agreement.

A previous Gun About tournament left two more Gun About machines in the arcade, giving patrons of the arcade a chance for a group match, it could get pretty hectic and competitive, but everyone involved had a blast. The group of two Elementary and four high school students got into position.

Hifumi and Shinya at the middle machine, Shiho and Mishima at the far right, and Kaito and Nanako at the far left. The match started, and after an intense match, Shinya got first (He was called 'The King' for a reason), Hifumi got second, missing Shinya's score by twenty points, shockingly, Nanako got third (Nanako said it was her first time EVER playing Gun About), Shiho got fourth, Mishima got fifth, and Kaito got dead last (granted he was ten points away from tying with Mishima).

"NUTS! Dead last…" Kaito said sadly, he was apparently VERY rusty at Gun About.

"Hey, nice job Nanako-san!" Shinya said, high fiving Nanako.

"Thanks Shinya-san!" Nanako cheerfully said.

"Whew! That was an intense match, and nice job Nanako-chan!" Mishima said, also giving Nanako a high five.

"That was a truly great match." Hifumi politely said, bowing to her competitors, the others did the same.

"Yeah, it was! We all should head home though, it's getting late." Shiho said, checking the time on her phone. The group nodded and left the arcade, and suddenly, Kaito felt like he got bashed in the head with a dumbbell.

"Ow!" Kaito exclaimed as he put a hand to his head, he looked over and saw the other's doing the same thing.

"That's…strange." Hifumi cautiously said. Shinya turned around and gasped at something.

"Uh…guys?" Shinya tried to get the other's attention. "What's wrong, Shinya…!" Nanako said as she turned around, she gasped at something.

What is Nanako so freaked out…about?!

"What in the name of…?!" Kaito turned around, and in place of the Gigolo arcade was a set straight out of a cowboy movie.

"Ok, where the hell are we?!" Mishima said in a panicked tone, essentially voicing everyone's concern. Kaito went from zero to a hundred, where were they and how do they get home?

"Hey, Suzui, what should we do…" Mishima stopped his sentence, Hifumi gasped at something, and…was Suzui-senpai holding Kaito's hand?

Kaito turned around, he assumed Shinya and Nanako did the same when the three gasped.

There was a tank, and not a small one, aiming its turret right at them. Some sort of yellow faceplate covering the top of the tanks hatch.

"W-what should we do?" Hifumi stuttered out, Kaito could tell the poor girl was scared out of her skin, then again so was he and most likely everyone else. "I…I don't know…" Suzui-senpai stuttered out. Kaito didn't know what to do, but he had to do SOMETHING… He couldn't let his friends die without doing anything to help.

"**Well, boy. What are you going to do?**" A deep, almost bestial male voice rang out in Kaito's head.

"Kaito, now is NOT the time for jokes!" Mishima-senpai spat out, great, he wasn't going crazy.

"**Are you just going to stand there and let Death do its job? Or are you going to DO something?**" The voice said again.

"Mishima… I don't think Kaito's messing around." Suzui-senpai stammered out.

"**Well, boy… What is your answer?**" The voice asked Kaito.

Kaito clenched his teeth together and stepped forward. The voice let out a feral laugh.

"**That's the answer I wanted to hear! I am thou, thou art I! Though thou are cursed to forever be surrounded by Death, thou shalt not stand idle and let Death have its way without a fight! Now Wild-Card…**" Kaito felt something in his hand, he looked down and saw a gun, the word 'Envoker' carved into it.

"…**Face Death head on, without fear, and call me forth!**" The voice shouted out, Kaito couldn't believe what he had to do.

"Please don't blow my brains out!" Kaito said as he placed the gun barrel at the back of his head.

"Kaito! Don't!" Shinya shouted at Kaito, but Kaito wasn't listening.

"Rise from the grave…Thanatos!" Kaito shouted as he pulled the trigger.

Kaito couldn't believe it when some sort of blue substance came flying out instead of metal.

"Wh…Whoa!" Mishima was startled by something…above Kaito? Kaito looked up, and saw a humanoid figure floating above him. It had a metal mask of some kind on it, but it didn't have a face, so Kaito guessed the metal mask was the creature's face, it had a cloak of some sort on, with white glove's and shoes that reached the creature's elbow's and just above it's kneecaps, it had a sword of some kind and coffin lids floating behind it, stopping at the creature's shoulders.

"Holy…" Kaito managed to say.

"Kaito-kun, what is going on?!" Suzui-senpai shouted at Kaito.

"I have no idea! But I do know what's gonna happen next!" Kaito said as he put the Envoker to the back of his head again.

"Thanatos, Door of Hades!" Kaito shouted as he pulled the trigger. Thanatos raised its hand, and the tank instantly disintegrated, everyone was struck silent by that they had just witnessed.

"**Tch, mortals. Unless you all want to die here, I suggest you leave right now.**" Thanatos spat, almost mockingly. No one, especially Kaito, knew what to say, until Nanako spoke up.

"Hey! You don't need to be rude! And we don't know HOW to leave anyways, we got dragged into this place, so stop with the whole 'god' act and help us out here! Jeez!" Kaito was shocked, Nanako didn't seem like the type who could do or say something like that to a literal monster and do so while not losing their nerve.

Kaito remembered the old saying 'Never judge a book by it's cover', he guessed it was right after all. Thanatos seemed dumbstruck, like it or he didn't expect Nanako's response.

"…**Impressive…for a little girl to tell off the big bad monster and not lose her nerve… Fine, I guess you passed my little test, little girl. Here…**" Thanatos said as he handed Nanako a model of an old-fashioned rifle.

"**You and Kaito can come in here whenever you two would like. However!**" Thanatos turned to Shiho, Mishima, Hifumi, and Shinya. "**You four can't come in here when you wish, if you can't handle me. Then you aren't ready yet to set foot here unsupervised.**" Thanatos said, strangely enough he sounded disappointed.

"What! Your test wasn't fair! Who wouldn't be scared of someone like you popping up out of nowhere!" Hifumi said, enraged.

"**That was the point, and I never said you couldn't come back here and try again, I just said you aren't YET ready to have the chance to come in alone.**" Thanatos spat out defensively.

"Ok, OK! Let's all take a breath here." Suzui-senpai said. Everyone did as she suggested and took a breath.

"**Ok, the exit is on your phone's, it's an app called 'Inner World'. And I am NOT going to explain what this world is, that's up to you people to figure out. Now please leave before more Shadow's show up. Please?**" Everyone couldn't wait to get out, but Kaito asked Nanako to give him the model gun before they leave.

"Why?" Nanako asked, it was a reasonable response.

"I'm friends with a shop owner who make's model guns and the like, so people wouldn't think twice about me having something like that. And, you know this is true, you're a kid, so you having a gun, model or otherwise, would raise A LOT of red flags. Nothing against you, Nanako, but it's better to be safe than sorry." Kaito responded, Nanako nodded in agreement and handed Kaito the model rifle. With that, the group left the 'Inner World'. The group decided to exchange numbers and chat ID's so they could communicate from anywhere and headed home with the promise to talk about what they all saw.

Kaito still had the Persona Potential Sensor on and found three other Persona user's, 'Yosuke Hanamura' head manager at Junes, 'Chie Satonaka' police officer, and 'Teddie' mascot(?) at Junes. Kaito got home and immediately informed his adoptive parents of what had happened today.

Kaito got a laugh out of them saying that the event was more believable than how Mrs. Mamori found Kaito 9 years ago. Kaito told them he would keep them in the loop and headed into his room for the night.

Kaito pulled out the replica of his Anti-Shadow Weapon, a sword with a built-in SMG for long-range, and prepped to bring it along when necessary. Kaito turned off the Persona Potential Sensor app and opened the group chat.

Kaito's ID was gold, Nanako's was red, Shiho's was black, Mishima's was blue, Hifumi's was green, and Shinya's was orange.

Shinya: "_Yo! About time, Kaito!_"

Kaito: "_Yeah, yeah, I know. So, what did I miss?_"

Hifumi: "_Nothing, we were waiting for you._"

Yuuki: "_Now, let's start with what we know._"

Nanako: "_Ok, so does anyone else have the app that monster guy was talking about?_"

Kaito"_I have it, but I was the one that summoned Thanatos in the first place._"

Shiho: "_I don't see it on my phone._"

Shinya: "_Zip for me._"

Yuuki: "_Nothing on my end._"

Hifumi: "_I unfortunately don't have it either…_"

Kaito: "_Nuts, so only Nanako and I have the app._"

Shiho: "_Kaito, has Thanatos spoken to you at all since we came back?_"

Kaito: "_Nope, radio silence from him._"

Yuuki: "_Damn, it's hard to believe what we saw in that place._"

Hifumi: "_Agreed, I thought we were in hell to be honest with you all…_"

Shiho: "_Who knows, it might be hell to some people._"

Nanako: "_Hey Shinya, does that set we saw where the arcade was mean anything to you?_"

Shinya: "_Uh… Why would it?_"

Nanako: "_Call it a hunch._"

Shinya: "_Um… Hey! It does ring a bell, kind-of._"

Yuuki: "_Well?_"

Shinya: "_I've been having this same dream lately, I can't remember it vividly, but I do remember me with yellow eyes, dressed up as a cowboy, and I had a chain attached to my left leg._"

Yuuki: "_Man, that's creepy._"

Nanako: "_Hm…_"

Shiho: "_Nanako-chan?_"

Nanako: "_I've had similar dreams, but I've had them since I was seven._"

Hifumi: "_What!_"

Shiho: "_Nanako-chan, what are you getting at?_"

Nanako: "_I think what you said about that place possibly being 'hell to some people' might be accurate, Suzui-senpai._"

Shiho: "_Wait, what!?_"

Shinya: "_Wait, so you're saying that that set is my personal hell?_"

Nanako: "_Yes, exactly that._"

Hifumi: "_I hate to admit it, but Nanako-chan has a point. The champion at a shooting game's personal hell being themed by a wild west movie set isn't exactly an illogical connection to make._"

Shinya: "_Yeah, it make's sense. And the fact that I want to deny it solidifies the theory._"

Kaito: "_Wait, so going by Nanako's logic…_"

Shiho: "_Come on, Kaito-kun. Just say it._"

Kaito: "_Wouldn't Nanako have something like Shinya has? Her own personal slice of hell?_"

"…" Nanako left the chat.

Kaito: "_Dang it, nice job Mamori…_"

Shiho: "_Kaito, it's ok. Nanako leaving solidified your theory._"

Yuuki: "_So…do you guys want to go in tomorrow and look for Nanako's personal hell?_"

Shinya: "_I'm game if you all are._"

Kaito: "_I'm on board with it._"

Hifumi: "_Consider me on board as well._"

Shiho: "_Was there any doubt I would join?_"

Yuuki: "_Ok, let's meet at Shujin tomorrow. Kaito's the only one besides Nanako that has the app._"

"_Very well, I'll see you all then._" Hifumi left the chat.

"_Same here, later!_" Shinya left the chat.

"_See you at school tomorrow, Kaito! See you tomorrow, Suzui!_" Mishima left the chat.

"_See you then, Kaito-kun._" Shiho left the chat.

Kaito sighed, put his Anti-Shadow Weapon in his backpack (Thanking Mitsuru for making the replica compactable for easier transport) and went to bed.

Wednesday, April 12th, 2017

Kaito woke up, surprised Igor didn't visit him last night. Kaito got ready, said his goodbye's, and turned on the Persona Potential Sensor again, this time yielding nothing. Kaito sighed, turned the app off, and headed into the school building.

The day flew by again, Kaito left the building and waited by the gate for everyone, Mishima arrived first, then Shinya, and Shiho and Hifumi arrived at the same time.

"Alright, where are we heading in at?" Shinya asked Kaito.

"Where are you guys going?" Kaito was shocked when Kurusu-senpai said that to him, Kaito turned around and saw Sakamoto-senpai, Takamaki-senpai, Yoshizawa-san, Futaba-chan, and Morgana with Akira.

"Uhm…we were about to figure that out, actually." Suzui-senpai quickly said.

Meanwhile, Kaito figured out WHY Igor didn't visit him, the old man updated the Persona Potential Sensor app with the ability to see Persona's, and he was busy trying not to make eye-contact OR look at Arsene, Captain Kidd, Carmen, Zorro, Cendrillon, and Necronomicon from SIX Persona users!

Kaito figured out why Morgana could sense something off with him, Morgana wasn't a normal cat at all! Suddenly Kaito figured out who the Phantom Thieves were AND learned where his friends were at last year.

"**Isn't your friend acting weird, Ryuji?**" Captain Kidd asked Sakamoto-senpai, who saw Kaito's strange behavior.

"Yo Kaito-kun. You ok man?" Kaito quickly nodded and gave him a thumbs up. And in the act looked at Carmen for a second, but it just took a second to get discovered.

"**Hey Ann, I think Kaito can see me.**" Carmen said, Takamaki-senpai's eyes went wide.

"Hey Kaito-kun, can you see ANYONE else besides us?"

CRUD!

"No? Why?" Kaito lied quickly. Carmen had a skeptical look on her face.

"**Hey, didn't you say that Kaito is SUPER anti-inappropriate Ann?**" NOPE! SO MUCH NOPE! NOT HERE!

"Don't you dare." Kaito said, instantly realizing his mistake.

"Huh!?" Morgana said, startling the other members of Kaito's group.

"D-Did Morgana just talk?!" Mishima spat out, covering his mouth after.

"**Wait, so they CAN see us!**" Necronomicon said.

CRUD! CRUD!

"Bail! Bail!" Kaito said, and the group started running away.

"Wait!" Kurusu-senpai shouted at them as they pursued the fleeing group.

"Kaito, activate the app!" Shiho told Kaito.

"I'm trying! The stupid thing isn't working!" Kaito spat, the infernal thing wasn't activating for some reason.

"Damn it guys! Stop!" Kaito heard Sakamoto-senpai yelling at them. They turned a corner. "Kaito! Now!" Hifumi hissed.

Kaito pressed the app, and suddenly they were in the 'Inner World'.

"Thank GOD the dang thing worked… GUYS! Look!" Kaito pointed at the pop-up book-eques building in front of them, the word 'Heaven' floating above the building.

"Looks like we found Nanako's personal hell." Mishima said. Kaito looked around the building for an entrance and saw a plaque saying 'Shujin Elementary'.

"Nanako view's the school like THIS? That's messed up." Shinya said, horrified.

"Well, I don't see an entrance." Shiho said.

"**And you won't see it ever.**" Thanatos said, startling everyone.

"Jeez, don't DO that! And we sure as hell are getting in there." Mishima said.

"**Oh yeah, tough guy?**" Thanatos crossed his arms, Mishima narrowed his eyes and glared at Thanatos. Kaito was honestly scared, the look Mishima was giving Thanatos could probably kill someone.

"**Well, well. Look who got a backbone all of a sudden. Ok kid, here.**" Thanatos said as he handed Mishima a…boomerang?

"Um…" Mishima was confused at the weapon he got.

"**Kid, it'll make sense in the future. Just trust me on this.**" Thanatos quickly said.

"Ok, so… How. Do. We. Get. Into. The. Building?!" Shiho hissed at Thanatos, Kaito could tell that Suzui-senpai had taken enough of Thanatos's BS.

"**Wow! Easy, kid. You proved you can handle this place, here.**" Thanatos said as he handed Shiho silver gauntlets.

"Whoa! That's awesome, Suzui-senpai!" Kaito said as Shiho put the gauntlets on.

"Thank GOD I took those Aikido lessons, now these'll hurt those monsters!" Shiho said as she studied the gauntlets craftsmanship.

"Me next! Me next! I'm SO ready to play this game!" Shinya said as he jumped up and down in pure excitement.

"**Ok, ok. Fine, here.**" Thanatos said as he handed Shinya a Gun About gun.

"Ooh! Nice, work with what your familiar with." Shinya said as he spun the gun around on his finger.

"I am prepared for whatever we will face here, I must be anyhow." Hifumi calmly said, Kaito had absolutely no idea how she was able to keep her cool.

"**Huh… It's like you're a different person now. Alright, here, a weapon for a strategist such as yourself.**" Thanatos said as he handed Hifumi two crossbows.

"Hm… An interesting choice. I like it." Hifumi said cheerfully as she studied her new weaponry.

Kaito couldn't believe that this little group he had were already armed, maybe not very dangerous, but at least prepared for a scuffle.

"**Ok, so I'm guessing you kids wanna help… Nanako was it?**" Thanatos asked the group, they all nodded and Thanatos sighed.

"**Oh boy, well… Ok, here's how this'll go. You kid's come back tomorrow, gear in tow, and I'll get you all inside. BUT! In exchange, you kids can't explore very far in UNLESS Nanako is with you.**" Thanatos said. Um…what?

"Why does Nanako-chan have to be here? Can't we help her without her ever knowing?" Shiho asked Thanatos, the creature shook its head.

"**No, Nanako MUST be present to unshackle her Shadow so she can move on AND unlock the way to get her Persona.**" Thanatos explained to the group.

"Wait, 'Shadow'? 'Persona'? What's with the terms?" Mishima asked, Thanatos groaned in understanding and annoyance.

"**A Persona is…well, a manifestation of a person's true self. Or at least the good side of people. A Shadow is a manifestation of the hidden side of a person's true self, the hidden part of their personality, the bad. The tank you all saw is, for lack of a better term, a lesser Shadow. And I'll explain the 'unshackle' part while I'm at it, some people's Shadow's are chained to one event and won't let the person the Shadow belongs to move on, basically making the Shadow and their human counterpart two different people. The only way to free the Shadow so the person as a whole can move on is to have the person face their Shadow and create a 'key' to the Shadow's 'chains', OR in other words, accept the Shadow and move on together.**" Thanatos explained to the group, it made sense.

Kaito shivered though, he could guess what his Shadow would be like, and he wasn't looking forward to facing it, but then again of course he wouldn't.

"Ok, I think we're done here for today." Kaito said, everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'll go get Nanako tomorrow and meet you guys here." Shinya said, everyone said their goodbyes.

"Ok, and if Kurusu-senpai and the other's try to interrogate us, DO NOT let them on our trail. Ok?" Kaito said before they headed back to the real world.

The group nodded, and on that, they left the 'Inner World' and went home.

Thursday, April 13th, 2017

Kaito woke up and again was shocked that Igor didn't visit him. Kaito did his usual schedule, didn't find anything again, and walked into the school building.

Everything was going well until lunch, where Sakamoto-senpai sat with him and Mishima.

"Well?" Sakamoto-senpai asked them.

"Fine, I expected this to be honest." Kaito said, Sakamoto-senpai waved the other's over.

"So, you guys can see Persona's, huh?" Kurusu-senpai asked the two.

"Y-Yeah, so?" Mishima hesitantly said, Kaito couldn't blame him, they were walking on VERY thin ice.

"Does anyone in your group have a Persona?" Ann asked the two.

"No." Kaito lied, but Kurusu-senpai didn't buy it.

"You're lying, Kaito-kun. If I had to guess, YOU have a Persona." Nuts…

"Ok FINE. Yes, I have a Persona." Kaito spat.

"Look, that world is dangerous. I'm not sure if you've been there or not, but if you have, tell us what it is and leave it to the professionals." Futaba-chan said.

"We don't know anything about this 'world' you're talking about. Are we done?" Kaito said as sternly as he could manage, hoping that they believed his lie.

Arsene got in Kaito's face.

"**Rest assured, mortal. If you are lying, I will personally-**" Arsene tried to say, but Kurusu-senpai cut him off.

"Look, we're just concerned about your safety guys, we're not the enemies here." Kurusu-senpai calmly said to the two.

"There's nothing to worry about, Kurusu-senpai." Kaito said. Kurusu-senpai nodded and his group left Kaito and Mishima alone.

"Man, that was close." Mishima said, relieved that they weren't found out.

"Let's be extra careful from now on." Kaito said, hoping that they wouldn't be interrogated again.

"Ok, what is so important that I have to see here, guys?" Nanako asked the group once everyone had arrived at Shujin Elementary.

"Just see for yourself." Shinya said as he activated the 'Inner World' app. The group entered right in front of the 'Heaven' building.

"T-this is!" Nanako gasped, recognizing the building.

"We need you to explore this place with us, Thanatos's orders, not ours." Hifumi explained, Nanako sighed and nodded.

"**Alright, you kids ready?**" Thanatos asked the group, they all nodded.

"**Alright, grab on, and hang on tight.**" Thanatos said, the group grabbed one of Thanatos's coffin lids and hung on (in Mishima's case, for dear life) as the Persona flew over to a cloud hovering next to a grim-colored entryway.

"**All passengers departing at 'Deathly Gates' Station must let go now unless they want a return trip to the entrance.**" Thanatos said in a robotic tone.

"Ha! You really ARE from Kaito's personality!" Mishima exclaimed, Kaito groaned at the fact that he was right.

"Yes, yes. Laugh it up, Mishima-senpai." Kaito hissed at his senpai.

"**Alright, ground rules, kids. Kaito is the only one with a Persona, so UNTIL you all get a Persona, all in favor of Kaito being the temporary leader?**" Thanatos said in a commanding tone, everyone nodded in agreement except for Kaito.

"NOPE! I am SO NOT down for this." Kaito said, he REALLY didn't wanna be the leader, even if it was temporary.

"Mamori-senpai, you're the only one that can properly fight here, we have weapons but you have Thanatos, and either way it's only temporary." Nanako refuted, AND Kaito COULDN'T ARGUE WITH HER BECAUSE SHE WAS RIGHT, GOSH DANG IT!?

"Ugh…FINE. BUT only for NOW!" Kaito spat out, the group laughing at his displeasure with his temporary leadership role.

"**Alright, now: If there's a Shadow, Kaito is on the front lines, the rest of you will either fight at a distance OR hide at a distance. NO EXCEPTIONS until someone else gets a Persona. Am I clear?**" Thanatos said, the group nodding in approval.

"Ok, before we head in. I've been thinkin'…" Shinya started.

"Thinking about what?" Nanako asked her fellow elementary schooler.

"About a group name for us, I mean come on! We're like the Phantom Thieves! So, we gotta have a group name." Shinya explained. The thought seemed childish, but it was true though.

"Ok, anyone got any ideas?" Shiho asked. Everyone took a second to think.

"How about…the Personal Demon Hunters? Or P.D.H. for short." Nanako suggested, everyone nodded in agreement.

"It's a little on the nose, but it's accurate." Mishima commented.

"**Alright! From now on, this group will be called the Personal Demon Hunters!**" Thanatos said triumphantly.

"Ok, now back to the task at hand." Hifumi said, returning everyone's attention to the reason they came here in the first place.

"Well, let's head in." Kaito said, and on that, P.D.H. headed into Heaven, the personal hell of Nanako Dojima.

As Kaito observed earlier, the building's interior was similar to a colorful pop-up book, complete with child-like drawings of flowers, clouds, dogs, cats, and the doors looked like that too.

"Hm…" Hifumi muttered to herself.

"Something wrong, Hifumi?" Kaito asked the shogi player.

"It's too quiet, no Shadow's jumping at us, no dangerous traps, nothing except a childish landscape. Somethings wrong here, I'm just not sure what exactly." Hifumi explained, it did seem a little TOO quiet for a place that's supposed to be a hellscape for someone.

"…**! Damn it! There's other Persona users here, I can sense them.**" Thanatos spat quickly, startling the P.D.H.

"What! W-What should we do?!" Mishima stammered out.

"Let's hide, wait for them to pass, and then book it back to the entrance." Kaito said, pointing at a stack of crates to hide behind.

His teammates nodded and ran over to the crates and hid themselves the best they could. Kaito was about to peek after a few minutes passed, but stopped once he heard voices.

"Damn. Whose Palace ya think this place belongs too?" A male voice said, Kaito was too focused on keeping himself and his teammates quiet than putting a voice to a face.

"Skull, this isn't a Palace!" A female voice spat at the male.

"Oracle, are you sure you detected other's here?" Another female voice asked.

"I'm positive, Queen! I just can't figure out where." A young female voice said.

"Still, such a strange décor…" A male voice said.

"Fox, not now! Keep an eye out for other people!" The female voice that yelled at Skull(?) said.

"Very well then, Panther. Mona, have you found anything?" The male voice asked.

"No… Damn it! They couldn't have gotten far…Joker, Dancer, Noir, find anything?" A boyish voice said, wait, Mona?

No, that must be a coincidence.

Kaito heard two sets of shoes running towards Mona(?).

"No, I didn't find anyone." A female voice said.

"Sadly, I didn't find anything either." Another female voice said, why did her voice sound familiar to Kaito?

"Damn it! Joker, you find anything?" Skull(?) asked someone else…near their hiding place.

"Yep, I found something." A male voice said RIGHT ABOVE Kaito.

Kaito looked up, and saw Akira Kurusu wearing a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black pants, brown-black winklepickers and a pair of red gloves, and a mask with a black and white, birdlike domino design. Akira…no, Joker smirked at Kaito.

"Looks like someone lied." Joker said calmly.

CRUD!

"RUN!" Kaito shouted at his teammates as they ran out of their hiding place, startling the other people in the room.

"**You all are not getting away!**" Arsene said as he blocked the P.D.H.'s only way out, CRUD!

"Wait, Shiho?" A girl…no, Ann Takamaki…no, ugh!

Kaito was really annoyed with these code names, but then again, a girl with a skin-tight red latex catsuit with a…cleavage cutout (Eww!) and zippers, a matching red panther mask, pink gloves, dark red thigh-high boots, and a clipped-on tail on the back of her catsuit being called Panther made sense.

"Wait, Ann?! What are you wearing?!" Shiho demanded, Kaito couldn't blame her for wanting answers.

"Never mind that! What are you doing here?! I thought you guys couldn't come here?!" Panther hissed back, more confused than angry.

Kaito took a second to analyze the situation the P.D.H. was stuck in, and especially take note of the people there.

Ryuji Sakamoto was easy enough to identify, his blond hair giving him away, but Kaito was startled by his senpai's choice of clothing. He had his usual black blazer on, but with a matching black jacket and pants with knee pads, a red ascot, combat boots, a pair of yellow gloves, and a skull mask, WELL THEN, there's Skull.

Futaba Sakura was given away by her hair as well, her clothing consisting of a skintight black bodysuit with fluorescent neon green glowing strips and matching black boots with neon green soles, and her mask was a pair of big black goggles with orange lenses. Kaito assumed that Futaba was Oracle.

Kasumi Yoshizawa was the other person Kaito recognized, her red hair and ponytail gave her away. She had a black mask with silver highlights and had a black ribbon tied to her ponytail. She wore a strapless black leotard, a chain belt with two silver roses motifs and the scabbard for her rapier(?) attached to it, a black choker (WHY!?) and red gloves. Her black bolero jacket had gold buttons, ruffled sleeves and three floor-length coattails. She was wearing thigh-length hose and stiletto-heels that resemble ballet shoes on the top. Kaito assumed she was Dancer.

But the other's he didn't recognize… Until he took a good look at who he thought was Queen and Noir.

"N-Nijima-senpai!? And Okumura-senpai!?" Kaito blurted out, were they part of the Phantom Thieves as well?

"Kaito-kun!? And Yuuki-kun and Shiho-chan as well?! Joker, you left this out during our briefing!" Makoto Nijima or Queen shouted at Joker, clearly annoyed.

"Ah! Hello Kaito-kun!" Haru Okumura or Noir said, accompanied by a bow.

Kaito couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Makoto Nijima, dressed in a two-toned (Kaito guessed dark blue and black) skintight suit accompanied with a long black scarf, a dark gray corset-style leather breastplate, shoulder and knee pads with spikes mixed with boots that sport metal heels and toes, white gloves and an iron mask.

And Haru Okumura, dressed in a dark purple cavalier hat with a feather plume tucked into a royal purple hatband, a long-sleeved pale pink blouse with a white neck jabot (held there by a red gem pin), a black corset vest with gold buttons, bloomers that matched her hatband, black pantyhose, a holster belt carrying ammo and lace-up pumps. Her mask and gloves were black and violet, respectively.

"Hm? Do you all know these people?" Fox(?) asked, clearly confused, Fox looked over and gasped when he saw Hifumi.

"Togo-san? Why are you here?" Fox(?) asked Hifumi, she gasped, Kaito assumed that she knew who Fox was.

"Kitagawa-san?! Is that you?!" Hifumi blurted out alarmed. Fox nodded.

"So, you have access to this world as well." Yusuke Kitagawa or Fox calmly said, Kaito identified him from watching the Phantom Thieves last year as a pupil of their second target, Madarame.

Yusuke Kitagawa was wearing a traditional kitsune-style half mask, a black high-collared puff-sleeved jumpsuit with a striped sash worn across his hips, white motorcycle boots and bright blue gloves. Attached to the jumpsuit was a white fox tail.

That only left the…cat thing?

"Um…A cat?" Shinya and Nanako hesitantly asked, the cat thing that could only be Mona huffed and stomped its paw(?) on the floor.

"I'M NOT A CAT! The girl has a pass, but you don't Shinya!" Mona hissed.

"Wait, Morgana!? Is that you?!" Kaito spat, flabbergasted at Morgana's appearance.

Morgana was a predominantly black cat with blue eyes and a white muzzle, paws and tail tip who wears a yellow collar in the real world. But in the 'Inner World', Morgana looked like an anthropomorphic and biped form of his cat form with a large head and eyes, where the collar turned into a yellow bandana in addition to gaining a utility belt. He also lacked any visible cat whiskers in this form.

"Look, you guys aren't in trouble. Hell, I expected you to lie to us, but you all need to leave, we'll handle this." Joker told the P.D.H. calmly but firmly.

"I'm sorry Joker, but no. We aren't leaving, this is OUR mission. Not the Phantom Thieves." Kaito responded in the exact same way, surprising Joker with his sudden leadership.

"I'm afraid that that wasn't a request, Kaito-kun." Queen said firmly, pulling out Tekko or Brass Knuckles (Kaito couldn't tell the difference, he just knew there was one.).

"Look, we've made it this far, and Kaito's right, we're NOT giving up on this now!" Shinya said, pointing his gun at Joker.

Joker chuckled at the P.D.H., not an evil laugh, more like an honestly joyful laugh, like Joker figured they wouldn't put up much of a fight and opt to leave quietly.

"Well, this is gonna get interesting." Joker said, drawing a knife and a pistol.

"Phantom Thieves, subdue them! No skills unless it's absolutely necessary!" Joker commanded, Futaba summoned Necronomicon, and her Persona grabbed her and pulled her into its UFO body. While the other Phantom Thieves surrounded the P.D.H., circling them like prey.

"Uh…me and my big mouth!" Kaito seethed as his teammates drew their weapons.

"Let's just focus on clearing an escape route, we're outclassed here." Kaito quietly ordered, his teammates nodded and prepared to fight their way out.

"Look! Just put your weapons down and we'll let you guys leave!" Skull said, trying to avoid a fight.

"No! This is OUR mission! We're not gonna let you guys stop us!" Nanako shouted back, aiming her model old-fashioned rifle at him to reinforce her point.

Kaito was shocked when Nanako cocked her rifle.

"Wait, how did you?" Kaito stammered out, Nanako looked like she had no idea how she did it either.

"Shit! This isn't good. Captain Kidd! Zio!" Skull said as he ripped his mask off, summoning his Persona.

"Nanako! Move!" Kaito shouted as he pushed the little girl out of the way, getting shocked by the attack and falling to the ground.

"Kaito!" Mishima shouted as he started to help his underclassman up.

"I'm fine… But now, I'm PISSED!" Kaito said as he grabbed his Anti-Shadow Weapon, its blade was retracted so only the sword handle was seen.

"Is Kaito-kun gonna throw a sword handle at us?" Queen asked, clearly confused.

"No, I'm gonna slash at you with THIS!" Kaito said as he hit a button on the bottom of the sword handle, causing the blade to fly out.

"Whoa! Kaito, where did you get THAT!" Shiho asked in awe.

"This is a replica of a sword I made, the original that I made got destroyed, so someone else made this one, but the design is ALL ME." Kaito boasted, he couldn't help it, it was HIS signature weapon for crying out loud! Kaito also pulled out his Envoker, carrying that in his left hand and his sword in his right.

Joker stood quietly in awe, Kaito thought he saw a flicker of approval in his senpai's gaze. Now, to the main event.

"And now…" Kaito put the Envoker to the back of his head.

"Kaito! The hell are you doing!?" Skull shouted in a panic, Kaito just smirked.

"…Persona!" Kaito shouted as he pulled the trigger, the familiar blue substance flying out again as Thanatos made himself known.

"**About time! I REALLY didn't like that Zio, you know! The only reason Kaito went down was because I didn't plan on him taking the attack, now! Let's see how YOU all like it!**" Thanatos bellowed, startling the Phantom Thieves.

"W-What!? How do you have such a powerful Persona already!?" Joker spat, startled by Kaito's Persona.

Kaito was about to respond when two words popped into his head. 'Earth Shaker' and 'Traverse', Kaito couldn't help but grin as he put his Envoker to the back of his head again and switched how he was holding his sword so it was like Kaito was about to stab the floor.

"Earth Shaker!" Kaito shouted as he pulled the trigger and plunged his sword into the floor.

"What? That's not a skill OR an attack! Joker would have used it by now if it was!" Mona hissed, not believing what Kaito casted.

UNTIL the Phantom Thieves fell over from a mini-earthquake.

"What was that!?" Futaba's voice echoed from her Persona's body.

"Looks like someone's learned a few tricks." Joker said, impressed that Kaito got the jump on them.

"And now, it's time for us to leave." Kaito said as he readied his Envoker.

"Traverse!" Kaito said as he pulled the trigger.

"**Bye!**" Thanatos said as the Persona snapped his fingers, he the P.D.H. vanishing into thin air.

"The hell!? They just disappeared!" Skull spat in awe.

"What was that skill Kaito casted? Joker?" Queen looked over at Joker, who was lost in thought.

"I don't know, I've never heard of those skills before. And a better question would be how does Kaito have access to Thanatos already." Joker said, a mixture of concern and confusion in his voice.

The Phantom Thieves didn't know what to make of the situation.

"Let's come back tomorrow, I'm worried for their safety." Noir said. Her fellow Phantom Thieves nodded in agreement.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Kaito shouted, he was on an adrenaline high but for robots.

"How did you know you could do that, Kaito-kun?" Shiho asked Kaito.

"**I may have put the words in his head.**" Thanatos said.

"Well, I for one am glad you did that." Mishima said in relief.

"HEY! Did you not have any faith in me?" Kaito asked Mishima-senpai, feigning being shot in the heart.

"What? No! I said that because of the impact." Mishima explained.

OH… Kaito nervously laughed.

"That was pretty amazing, Kaito-kun." Hifumi commented.

"Yeah!" Shinya chimed in.

"Thanks for taking that blow for me, Mamori-senpai." Nanako said, hugging Kaito.

"Anytime, Nanako-chan. Anytime." Kaito said, patting the little girl on her head.

Nanako giggled and stopped hugging Kaito.

"Well, today was…exciting to say the least. But now I think we should head home." Hifumi said, everyone nodded in agreement.

They left the 'Inner World' and parted ways. Kaito got home, turned off the app, gave his adoptive parents an update, and went to bed.

Friday, April 14th, 2017

Kaito woke up, did his usual routine, and got to school like usual.

It wasn't until school was almost out when Kaito and Mishima were called to the principal's office, and they were met by a Detective…with handcuffs, two of them.

Kaito and Mishima were smart enough to not go anything they would regret and left with the Detective, no need for cuffs.

They got to the station and were thrown into a rather large interrogation room, where the rest of the P.D.H. members, minus Nanako, were.

"Um, sir? Why are we here?" Kaito asked the Detective. The Detective just glared at Kaito and his friends until another man came into the room.

Kaito almost fell over once he recognized a VERY, VERY pissed off Yu Narukami.

Narukami walked over to Kaito, the glare he was giving him cold enough to freeze hell a thousand times over.

"I'm only going to say this once, I filled my uncle in. WHERE. IS. NANAKO!" Narukami yelled at Kaito.

WHAT!?

"Wait, Nanako-chan is missing?!" Kaito stuttered out, flabbergasted at the news.

"Don't play dumb, Kaito-kun." The Detective told Kaito, retaining his glare from earlier.

"I-I swear, this is the first time I'm hearing about this!" Kaito said.

"Don't lie to me, damnit! I saw you all with Nanako, so you all know something!" Narukami shouted.

"Excuse me, WHAT!?" Shiho blurted out, enraged at the mere IDEA that she and the other members of the Personal Demon Hunters were responsible for Nanako's disappearance.

Kaito looked Yu Narukami in the eyes.

"I swear, me and my friends did NOT kidnap Nanako-chan. But, I think I know where she is." Kaito told his senior Wild-Card. Narukami saw the honesty in Kaito's eyes and backed down.

"Fine, but WHERE?" Kaito expected that response.

"She's in her own personal hell, I can't really explain the world where she is, but I think you know something similar to that world, right?" Kaito said, recognizing a flicker of remembrance from the adults there.

"…Ok, I'll let you kids go, but you have to promise me something before I do." The Detective told Kaito, Kaito knew what Nanako's father was about to say.

"Please…PLEASE bring my daughter back safe." The Detective asked the P.D.H., tear's welling up in the man's eyes.

"I promise you, sir. We'll bring her back." Kaito said firmly, his teammates nodding, the same determination within them as well.

"Thank you…" The Detective said. The P.D.H. were released, and they all knew what to do.

"Let's go save Nanako." Kaito said, his teammates nodding in approval.

"**Hey…kids…What's wrong?**" Thanatos asked the team.

"Nanako's been taken, she MUST be in Heaven somewhere." Shiho explained, Thanatos gasped.

"…**Ok, OK. Let's move.**" Thanatos said as the team hopped on the Persona for transport.

"Kaito, what if we run into the Phantom Thieves again?" Shinya asked the group's temporary leader.

"I'll handle them." Kaito said, his usual personality replaced by that of a leader.

The P.D.H. progressed through Heaven, and sure enough, the Phantom Thieves were in the same room where they were yesterday.

"Kaito-kun, hold on-" Queen tried to say, but Kaito cut her off by walking up to Joker.

"Just listen. Nanako's been taken, I KNOW she's in here somewhere, WE made her dad a promise that WE would bring her back safe. So, either you and your friends move out of our way, Kurusu-senpai. OR, we'll go through you. What's your answer?" Kaito said calmly, the Phantom Thieves' eyes went wide.

"Wait, your friend has been taken?!" Noir said, horrified. Joker moved over, so the P.D.H. could get by.

"**Wait, Kaito-**" Arsene tried to say.

"NOT NOW! LATER!" Kaito spat, Arsene grabbed Kaito and spun him around to face him.

"**LOOK! You're going to need back-up, strong as Thanatos is, you're the only Persona user in your group. And simple weapons can only do so much against a normal Shadow, if you go down, you and your friends are as good as dead! Doubly so against a person's Shadow! Let us help you.**" Arsene explained to Kaito.

"What happened to ALL that violence against me and the others?" Kaito asked Arsene skeptically.

"**I was giving you and your teammates a hard time because I didn't think you were or would take this seriously, I was wrong.**" Arsene answered, Kaito looked at the Persona with a newfound understanding.

"…Ok, fine. Sorry for being snippy, I got tunnel-vision. Any help you guys could give would be appreciated." Kaito said, his voice heavy with forgiveness.

"Wow, it's like lookin' at one of those mirrors at a carnival." Skull said, Kaito could tell that his senpai was impressed with his leadership.

"Very funny Skull, and Kaito-kun isn't COMPLETELY like me. He's just being a leader." Joker said.

"I guess we're teaming up with your little team of misfits." Dancer said sarcastically, Shinya huffed and stomped his foot on the ground.

"Hey! We're called the Personal Demon Hunters! And we're not misfits!" Shinya defended, Kaito laughed at how quick Shinya was to defend their group.

"Hm… the 'Personal Demon Hunters' huh? Interesting name." Queen mused at the groups team name.

"We'll fill you guys in as we go, we need to keep moving." Mishima said, the two teams nodded and continued further into Heaven.

_Nanako's POV_

"No…no. No. NO!" Nanako said, scrambling away from…from WHATEVER the hell that thing was.

The creature chuckled, it's laugh matching her own laugh from when she was 6 and 7.

"_**Why are you denying me, other me? Why are you denying the truth?**_" The creature said, Nanako could swear that its golden eyes were peering into her very soul.

"Because IT. IS. NOT. TRUE! Yes, I've thought what you're saying as true before. But I know NOW that it isn't true." Nanako said, trying to reason with the creature, but the creature just laughed at her.

"_**Stop lying to yourself, you know that I'M right. So, stop denying it!**_" The creature spat.

"Someone…please, help me…" Nanako said as she ran into a wall, she was trapped.

_Kaito's POV_

Kaito was horrified at how Heaven's scenery suddenly shifted from childlike drawings to something out of a horror movie, or at least a graveyard in one.

"What in…?" Was really all Kaito could say at the sight before him.

"Thanatos, why did the décor shift?" Mishima asked the Persona.

"**We're getting close to the event that chained Nanako's Shadow, this is how Nanako's emotions perceived the event when it happened.**" Thanatos explained.

"So, what I'm taking from this, either Nanako-chan wants to die or she buried someone that meant a lot to her." Joker theorized, Kaito shook his head.

"I don't think that's entirely it, I think Nanako-chan believed that SHE should be the one that died, not the person that did die." Kaito theorized.

As if to confirm his theory, Nanako's voice, granted a younger sounding one, echoed throughout the room.

"Dad told me Mom got hit by a car when she was coming to get me… Am…am I responsible for my mom dying? Why couldn't it have been me?" Nanako's voice said, sadness coating her words.

"Dang it… So, I WAS right…" Kaito said, cursing himself for guessing correctly.

No one knew what to say. Suddenly, a scream that was most likely Nanako's echoed throughout the room.

"Shit! We gonna hurry!" Skull said, running towards the door to the next room. The others got to the door, and Skull kicked it open.

The room was…an intersection? With…blood on the crosswalk and…an outline of a body, like in those police shows on TV.

And at the wall, cowering in fear, was Nanako Dojima.

"Nanako!" Kaito called out to the girl, Nanako looked in his direction, but Kaito could tell even from a distance that Nanako was out of it.

"H…HELP ME!?" Nanako shrieked as she got up and sprinted to the two groups, Kaito crouched down and Nanako hugged him, crying into the robot's shoulder.

"Hey, hey. It's ok. You're safe, Nanako-chan, you're safe." Kaito comforted the young girl, he looked up to Joker.

"Let's get out of here-" Kaito started, but he was cut off by a distorted but familiar voice.

"_**You all aren't going ANYWHERE.**_" A younger Nanako with golden eyes said coldly, Kaito felt Nanako hug him tighter.

"What the?! T-there's another Nanako-chan?!" Mishima stammered out.

"**That's Nanako's Shadow, but at the same time, it has nothing to do with Nanako.**" Thanatos explained, putting his hand on Nanako's head, trying to help comfort the girl.

"_**You all heard that thought, right?**_" Shadow Nanako asked the P.D.H and the Phantom Thieves.

"Yeah, we heard it. But we know that Nanako doesn't think that anymore." Shiho said sternly.

"W-Wait, you all…?" Nanako tried to say, but Thanatos stopped her.

"**Yes, but we know that you don't think that anymore. Your Shadow is literally chained to the event and that thought.**" Thanatos explained, Nanako nodded, stopped hugging Kaito, and slowly got up, and turned to face her Shadow.

"Look, I know that you're hurting, but you have to STOP. So WHAT if I thought that once upon a time, I don't now. So please, just stop it!" Nanako pleaded with her Shadow again, her Shadow just laughed.

"_**So, you'll still deny the truth then, huh? FINE!**_" Shadow Nanako spat, a dark red vortex of some sort forming under her.

"Damn it, she's not letting us go without a fight. Get ready!" Joker said.

"_**I'll just have to KILL them so you'll listen to me!?**_" Shadow Nanako shouted as she was consumed by the vortex.

"**Here she comes!**" Arsene said, the vortex exploded, Kaito heard his teammates gasp in shock as they were sent flying.

"Mamori-senpai, I'm scared." Nanako said, startling Kaito.

"It'll be ok, Nanako-chan. She'll have to go through ME if she wants you." Kaito said, Nanako smiled and nodded.

"**Get behind us, Nanako-chan. We'll handle this.**" Thanatos said, Nanako did as the Persona said and went to her teammates.

"_**I am the Shadow, of your true, inner self. Hide your guilt as long as you like, little BRAT! Justice always prevails in the end, you should know that fact, other me!**_" Shadow Nanako said, Kaito was shocked at the form Shadow Nanako took on to fight them.

The Shadow's face was hidden by long, jet-black and unruly hair, and it was taller than Kaito, who was six foot two, Kaito guessed possibly the Shadow was around…six foot eight. It wore a blueish green suit of armor that looked like it was made from the same material from the Statue of Liberty, it carried a long, crooked sword with a blood-red blade, and its cape was a torn up, almost unrecognizable French flag. The only thing that made the Shadow's form look human was how the armor was defiantly made for a woman.

"Ok, normally I wouldn't hit a girl. BUT this is a special case." Kaito said as he drew his Anti-Shadow Weapon and Envoker.

"_**Smug little bastard!**_" Shadow Nanako spat as she swung at Kaito, Kaito yelped and jumped back, avoiding the blade by seconds.

"Tch. Amateur! You don't smack talk Shadows, unless you wanna die." Mona said mockingly, Kaito flinched at Mona's words and cursed himself for not thinking that through.

"Oracle, do you see any weak points?" Queen asked.

"No, not right now at least. It's possible that Nanako's cognition is blocking me, but I'm not sure how much of a role cognition plays here yet." Oracle said through Necronomicon.

Kaito WOULD ask what they meant by 'cognition' but he knew now wasn't the time.

Shadow Nanako charged at Kaito.

"Why is it going for me?!" Kaito yelped as he fell back, THEN IT HIT HIM.

"Wait! It must be targeting me because I said it would have to go through ME to get Nanako! Joker! Skull! Queen! Attack it now!" Kaito said, leading the Shadow away from his teammates.

"Roger, Johanna! Frei!" Queen said, summoning her Persona.

"On it! Captain Kidd! Zio!" Skull shouted, also summoning his Persona.

"Alright, Arsene! Eiha!" Joker said, summoning his Persona as well.

The three Persona's skills hit the Shadow at the same time, and it took the attacks like a champ, turning on its heel to face the three Phantom Thieves.

"_**DON'T INTERFERE!**_" Shadow Nanako shouted as it charged, swung, and sent the three flying.

"Guys!" Oracle shouted, Shadow Nanako looked up at Necronomicon.

"_**TAKE THIS!**_" The Shadow spat as it threw its sword at Necronomicon, hitting the Persona's gargoyle antenna.

"**NO! The Shadow took out my scanner! We're blind!**" Necronomicon hissed, upset at what she allowed to happen.

Shadow Nanako held it's hand up, it's blade reappearing in its hand.

"_**WHO'S NEXT?!**_" The Shadow seethed, none of the Phantom Thieves knew what to do.

"Damn it! It's smarter than it looks." Mona said sadly.

"Does anyone have any ideas?" Panther asked, helping her downed teammates up.

"I…I don't know…" Joker said, Kaito could tell his senpai was at a loss. Kaito KNEW he had to do something, but WHAT…

"**AHEM! You have something they don't, remember?**" Thanatos said, as if on cue, more words popped into Kaito's head. 'Zan', 'Aqua', and 'Magna'.

"**Zan is Almighty, Aqua is Water, and Magna is Earth. Almighty spells are ONLY ineffective by dodging. And yes, these are WEAK skills in each of their classes, 'Door of Hades', 'Earth Shaker', and 'Traverse' are the ONLY powerful skills you're getting right off the bat. NO MORE, NO LESS!**" Thanatos explained, Kaito nodded and readied his Envoker.

"_**What are you going to do?! SHOOT ME?!**_" Shadow Nanako spat, Kaito smirked.

"No, but you are gonna… Yeah, forget it, I can't come up with something clever… Just eat this." Kaito said blandly, making a mental note to come up with some clever sayings for situations like this.

"Thanatos, Zan!" Kaito shouted, pulling the trigger. Shadow Nanako became obscured in bright light-blue light, it dissipated and the Shadow didn't look hurt at all.

"…YOU LIED TO ME, THANATOS!?" Kaito spat as Shadow Nanako charged at him, shouldering him, and sent him flying.

Kaito hit the wall, HARD.

"Ow…" Kaito seethed out, he looked up and saw Shadow Nanako charging at him again.

"Guys! Get Nanako-chan to safety!" Kaito shouted to his team.

"W-What! But what about you?!" Mishima shouted back, Shadow Nanako was almost on top of him, its sword aimed right for Kaito's neck.

"Don't worry about me! Now GO! That's an order!" Kaito shouted back angrily, ready to give up his own life for the sake of others.

Kaito closed his eyes, waiting for the blade to connect.

_Nanako's POV_

Nanako couldn't believe it, Kaito Mamori, someone who she literally JUST met, was going to sacrifice himself so she could get to safety… But this was HER hidden self, so it was essentially HER that was trying to kill someone.

Nanako was NOT down for that.

"STOP!" Nanako shouted at her Shadow, it stopped right before its sword hit Kaito's neck.

"_**What do YOU want, you little Bitch?! Can't you see that I'm BUSY!?**_" Her Shadow spat at her, clearly annoyed.

Two could play at this game.

"Would Mom want us to kill someone? Would Dad?! Would Big Bro?! NO! They. Would. NOT! So, stop using her death and my emotions as an excuse to hurt and kill!" Nanako shot back, her Shadow started…glitching out?

"What the?" Nanako said, confused at what her Shadow was doing.

"_**ARGH!? YOU BITCH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!**_" Her Shadow said, stumbling back in pain.

Was the glitching hurting it?

Nanako looked over at the Phantom Thieves, and they looked confused as well.

"What in the world?" Suzui-senpai said, she and the other members of the Personal Demon Hunters were probably confused as well.

_Kaito's POV_

Kaito slowly opened his eyes, and was shocked to see Shadow Nanako, who was glitching out and obviously in pain, backing up from him.

Kaito DID hear Nanako-chan chew her Shadow out, but he didn't expect THIS to happen.

"**HELLO?! Are you waiting for an invitation? Attack!**" Thanatos spat, Kaito jumped to his feet and readied his Envoker.

"Ok, Almighty did SQUAT. So, how about Earth?" Kaito thought out his plan of attack, if Earth didn't do anything, he would switch to Water.

"Thanatos, Magna!" Kaito shouted, pulling the Envoker's trigger.

A bunch of small rocks flew at Shadow Nanako, it started swatting at them like flies, but other than that nothing happened.

"**You're hurting her slowly, but if you're looking for a violent reaction, then you're not going to get one with a person's Shadow.**" Thanatos said sternly, Kaito didn't believe his Persona and readied his Envoker again.

"Thanatos, Aqua!" Kaito shouted, a weak blast of water fired out of Excalibur, Kaito's Anti-Shadow Weapon, and Shadow Nanako screeched and fell over when the water connected with it.

"**HUH?! That hasn't happened since 2011! How and why do people's Shadow's have weaknesses again?**" Thanatos said, just as shocked as Kaito was that anything volatile happened.

"Well, THAT'S new!" Oracle said, was this a new experience for the Phantom Thieves as well?

"**Hm… Interesting…**" Necronomicon said intrigued.

"Nice work, Kaito-kun! Now, follow our lead." Joker said as he, Skull, and Queen ran over and pointed their guns at the downed Shadow. Skull had a model shotgun and Queen had a model revolver, Joker obviously had a model pistol, Kaito thanked Iwai for letting him help out in the former yakuza's shop, so Kaito could tell models from the real deal, no matter how realistic the model was.

Kaito joined them and pointed Excalibur at the downed Shadow as well.

"_**Smug bastards and bitches…**_" Shadow Nanako said, glaring at Kaito in particular.

"What! How are WE the smug ones? You're the one that got the jump on US!" Kaito spat, glaring at the Shadow.

"She won't listen to words right now, we need to beat her berserk form first, THEN she'll listen to us." Skull explained to Kaito.

"Now, time for an All-Out Attack! Kaito-kun, follow our lead!" Joker said. Joker, Skull, and Queen jumped into the air and shot off towards the Shadow, Kaito backed up and charged at the Shadow, readying a swing with Excalibur.

"EAT THIS!" Kaito shouted as he unleashed a flurry of slashes on Shadow Nanako, the Phantom Thieves landing blows in a quick succession, Kaito honestly couldn't tell who was who, he only saw blurs. Kaito jumped back, the Phantom Thieves that were with him were with him as well, Shadow Nanako got up, its armor covered with cuts and dents.

"_**Heh…heh…smug little shits…you all just got lucky…**_" Shadow Nanako seethed, Kaito could tell it was PISSED. The Shadow was still glitching out, Kaito didn't know why it even started glitching out in the first place.

"Are you done?" Kaito was shocked when Nanako said that AND started walking over to her Shadow.

"Nanako-chan! What on earth are you doing?!" Kaito shouted at Nanako, did she have a death wish?!

_Nanako's POV_

Nanako knew exactly what she was doing.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I chained you to this hellscape, I know how much you're hurting. You're me and I'm you, after all. But you have to STOP, nothing we do can bring Mom back, all we can hope for is for Dad to get solid evidence against the person that killed her. Justice may take a while to happen, but it will ALWAYS prevail, either in this world or the next." Nanako told her Shadow, who actually seemed to be listening to her.

"…_**Do you really mean that…? Are you not pulling my chain? No pun intended.**_" Her Shadow asked her, Nanako nodded.

"Yes, I mean that." Nanako said. Her Shadow changed back to her 6 or 7-year-old self.

"_**Fine. Your right…**_" Shadow Nanako said in a huff, she held up her leg, pointing out the chain.

"_**Sorry for being rude. But GET THIS EFFING CHAIN OFF ME!?**_" Shadow Nanako said angrily, Nanako would…BUT she didn't know how to.

"Um… I don't know how." Nanako said, hoping her Shadow didn't go crazy again. Nanako was shocked when a key popped into her hand.

"What in the?" Nanako didn't know how the key got in her hand, the key had a French flag for its head and the rest was blueish green like the armor her Shadow had on.

"Well, I know what to do from here." Nanako said, she walked over to her Shadow, and unlocked her Shadow's chains.

"_**FREE AT FUCKING LAST!?**_" Shadow Nanako shouted as she…started to fade away?

"Hey! What's happening to you?" Nanako asked her Shadow, her Shadow smirked at her happily.

"_**Don't worry, I'm just leaving this place with you! I AM you after all! Also, hold onto that key, you'll need it.**_" Shadow Nanako said cheerfully as she fully faded away.

Nanako turned around to face her saviors…and fell over from sudden exhaustion.

"Nanako-chan!" Nanako heard Kaito say before she passed out.

_Kaito's POV_

Kaito grabbed Nanako before she hit the ground, the poor girl must have passed out from exhaustion from facing her Shadow.

"Ok, NOW let's get out of here. Before anything else crazy happens." Kaito said, everyone nodded in agreement.

"NANAKO!" The Detective shouted as he hugged his daughter, both of them crying.

"DAD! I'm so sorry for worrying you!" Nanako said, the Detective shook his head.

"It's ok, Nanako. I'm just glad you're ok." The Detective said, he looked over at the P.D.H. members that saved his daughter.

"Thank you, all of you." The Detective said, bowing to them.

"No, thank YOU for telling us about Nanako." Kaito said, bowing to the Detective, his teammates followed suit soon after.

"BUT it really was Nanako that saved herself to be honest, you should have seen her!" Mishima said, Nanako blushed a little.

"Well! Looks like my little girl isn't so timid anymore, huh?" The Detective said, a grin on his face, Nanako's face went cherry red.

"DAAAD! You're embarrassing me!" Nanako goofily said, a grin on her face as well.

"Ok, I think it's time for us to head home. See you later, Nanako-chan!" Kaito said, from there the P.D.H. split off and returned to their homes. Kaito couldn't stay up any longer and went straight to bed.

_Nanako's POV_

Nanako woke up in a…car?

"Huh? I know I fell asleep in my bed. Where am I?" Nanako said, the car felt nostalgic for some reason.

"AH! You're up!" Nanako fell over from shock at the young male voice's sudden introduction.

"Oh! Sorry, I'm new to this. Ahem. You're up." The young male said calmly, Nanako got up and saw a white boy about her age in a blue suit with a yellow tie, blue pants with yellow target-like symbols on the pockets, turquoise shoes, kind-of long light blonde hair, and yellow eyes like her Shadow.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. My Master and Older Sister are waiting for us to arrive at your fellow Wild-Card's Velvet Room. Before I introduce myself…" The young boy handed Nanako a contract and an old-fashioned feather pen.

"…Please sign your name on this contract. Don't worry by the way, it's fine. Trust me!" The young boy said cheerfully, Nanako took the young boy's word and signed her name on the contract and handed it and the pen back to the young boy.

"Thank you! My name is Max, I shall be your attendant for your stay in the Velvet Room. My Older Sister shall also assist you as will my Master, but I'll let them introduce themselves." Max said, Nanako felt the car picking up speed.

"My Master shall explain your role in the events to come." Max explained, Nanako nodded in understanding, curious as to who the other 'Wild-Card' was and what being a 'Wild-Card' meant.

_Kaito's POV_

Kaito woke up in the graveyard again.

"Igor! I was waiting until we spoke again! I have some…CHOICE WORDS for you." Kaito said through clenched teeth, Igor chuckled at Kaito's expense.

"Yes, I apologize for updating the app without informing you, for some reason outside of my control, you were blocked off from the Velvet Room." Igor explained, Kaito understood, but he was still mad.

"Ah! So, THIS is the guest you've been telling me about!" Kaito noticed a woman standing next to Igor's desk.

The woman had short white hair and yellow eyes. She wore a blue dress that resembled a stewardess' outfit with five black-lined circles outside small yellow circles, blue gloves, a blue attendant-like hat, black leggings and blue, knee-length boots. She was also carrying a large, blue book.

"Ah! I forgot to introduce myself. I am Elizabeth! I shall be your attendant for your stay in the Velvet Room." Elizabeth said cheerfully.

"Now, before we celebrate our reunion, we must wait for my other assistant to arrive with the other Wild-Card." Igor said, Kaito was slightly annoyed, but he waited for Nanako and Igor's other assistant to arrive.

"**Uh…am I intruding?**" Kaito nearly activated the jet boosters in his feet when Thanatos appeared at his side.

"Ah, Thanatos! Igor told me that Kaito could summon you already." Elizabeth cheerfully said to Thanatos.

"**Oh! Hello Elizabeth, I thought you were done being an assistant to Igor.**" Thanatos said, Elizabeth slapped the Persona with the book she was carrying.

"**OW! I was joking! Jeez!**" Thanatos spat, rubbing the side of his face where Elizabeth wacked him.

Kaito heard a car pull up, he turned around and saw a young boy that looked related to Elizabeth and Nanako get out of the car.

"Mamori-senpai!? You're the other Wild-Card?!" Nanako spat, startled by his presence. Igor started chuckling again, directing Nanako's attention to him.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, Ms. Dojima. I am Igor, the master of this place. This realm exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Don't worry, you both are fast asleep in the real world. You have meet Max, I trust?" Igor said to Nanako, the young boy that must have been Max ran over to Igor and handed him a contract. Igor chuckled again.

"So, you have signed your contract. Excellent!" Igor said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you! I am Elizabeth! I shall also assist you for your stay in the Velvet Room." Elizabeth introduced herself to Nanako, bowing to her, Max walked up to Kaito.

"I'm Max. As my Older Sister has said, I shall also assist you for your stay in the Velvet Room." Max politely said to Kaito, accompanied with a bow.

"It's nice to meet you Max! Igor probably told you my name already, but I'm Kaito Mamori, I'll try to not be a bad guest." Kaito said to Max, bowing as well.

"Now, onto the reason I summoned you two here tonight." Igor said, directing the two Wild-Cards attention.

"I summoned you both here so you both could meet Elizabeth and Max but to also enlighten Ms. Dojima on her duties as a Wild-Card." Igor explained, Nanako nodded in understanding.

"You might want to sit down Nanako-chan." Kaito told Nanako. Nanako sat down on a bench.

"As the TRUE Wild-Card of your group, you have access to infinite possibilities within you, and can use multiple Persona's. Unlike Kaito, who has finite possibilities but can use more Persona's than you and use multiple Persona's at one time. You two MUST bond with others that have your gift and share your mindsets if you wish to stop the crisis ahead." Igor explained, Kaito was kind-of scared, he didn't receive this information before.

"Wait, crisis? What crisis?" Nanako asked Igor, Igor sighed and closed his eyes.

"I…cannot tell you both more than that, I'm afraid." Igor said sadly.

"Huh? Wait a minute, why are you being cryptic again?" Kaito asked Igor, Kaito and Nanako gasped when Igor stood up and walked over to them.

"I apologize, my guests. But I cannot say anymore than I already have, I am truly sorry." Igor said, bowing to the two.

"Igor?" Elizabeth asked Igor, was this not usual?

"Master? What's wrong?" Max asked Igor, the old man patted the boy's head and returned to his seat.

"That is all for tonight, here's the key to the Velvet Room." Igor said, why was Igor acting like this?

Kaito felt something in his pocket, he looked over at Nanako and the little girl had another key in her hand.

Kaito was about to ask Igor what was wrong when the Velvet Room faded away and he lost consciousness.


	6. Chapter 2: The Beaten Boy (Part 1)

**Author's Note**

**Hi… Man, it's been a while, let's see…**

***Looks at the Updated section of the story***

**WOW, almost three months…**

**Well, here's more story, I'll put up a section soon about where I've been and what's been going on with me.**

**Check out my other stories, which will contain the same message but I HONESTLY MEAN WHAT IT WILL SAY, I promise!**

**?: "Ok, sad mood over, get on with it!"**

**Fine… You're not helping, you know…**

**?: "To be fair, this isn't really my thing…"**

Saturday, April 15th, 2017

_Kaito's POV_

Kaito woke up and checked his phone, strangely enough, the P.D.H. Chat was active, Kaito clicked on it and entered the chat.

Kaito: "_Hey guys, something up?_"

Shiho: "_Hey Kaito, yeah, something's up_"

Nanako: "_Um… I kind-of can't get out of bed…_"

Kaito: "_Huh? What do you mean you 'can't get out of bed'?_"

Nanako: "_I just can't for some reason! I can only lift my arm, move my head, and talk. That's it._"

Yuuki: "_That's…strange…_"

Shinya: "_Hey, do you guys think this is because of Nanako's Shadow?_"

Hifumi: "_There IS a chance that's the cause._"

Nanako: "_Well, I hate to say this, but it could be worse._"

Shiho: "_You're not wrong, Nanako-chan. Just rest for now._"

Yuuki: "_Defiantly! You deserve it._"

Nanako: "_Ok, fine. I'll keep you guys updated, bye!_"

Kaito: "_Bye Nanako-chan!_" Kaito left the chat and got ready for school.

Kaito was sitting in class when Ms. Kawakami walked into class with a girl Kaito hadn't seen before. "Class! We have a new student joining us today, please be respectful. You can introduce yourself now."

The girl nodded and faced her class. "Hello, my name is Megan Toko. I hope we get along." Megan said, bowing to her classmates. Ms. Kawakami pointed to an empty desk next to Kaito, Megan sat down and class was underway. "Hey, welcome to Shujin Academy. I'm Kaito Mamori, I should tell you this before you get a bad dose of the nonsense here. Ignore the rumors here, trust me on that, just listen." Kaito whispered to Megan, and sure enough, there's the hideous rumor mill of Shujin.

"There's Mr. Heartbreaker at it again." "He always does this to the pretty ones…" "Poor girl…"

Megan whispered a thank you to Kaito and they both went back to listening to Kawakami's lecture.

Lunch arrived and Megan joined Mishima and Kaito. "Hey 'Mr. Heartbreaker'." Megan mused, Kaito laughed a little. "Why, hello Miss Toko, care to join us?" Kaito asked, Megan nodded and sat with the two boys.

"So, enjoying Shujin so far?" Mishima asked Megan, she shrugged. "It's better than my old school, thanks for giving me a heads up by the way." Megan said. "No problem." Kaito said. The three ate their lunch sprinkled with some small talk.

"So… Why do people call you 'Mr. Heartbreaker'?" Megan asked Kaito, Kaito sighed. "I'm single, I have been since seventh grade, but girls keep trying to win me over. Last year a third-year tried to get into a relationship with me and I refused but I was fine with being friends with her, I broke her heart. So ever since, people have called me 'Mr. Heartbreaker'." Kaito explained. "So, are you not interested or…?" Megan asked Kaito, Mishima chuckled lightly, Kaito elbowed him lightly. "No, I know where your going. No, I'm not gay, I just don't wanna get into a relationship, that doesn't mean I DON'T think someone isn't 'pretty' or 'hot' or 'attractive', I just don't want to get involved with someone." Kaito explained, it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

Megan looked at Kaito, perplexed. Did she sense he wasn't being completely honest? "Hey, mind if I borrow Kaito for a bit, Mishima-senpai?" Megan asked, nuts… Mishima nodded, and Megan lead him to the little storage area of the roof.

"Ok, talk." Megan said bluntly. Kaito tried to play dumb, but Megan saw right through him. "Stop playing dumb, Kaito-san. You can tell me, you'd be surprised what I'd believe." Megan said, crossing her arms. Kaito sighed, he wasn't getting out of this, Megan DID seem trustworthy though… "…Ok, fine. I'll be honest with you, Megan-san." Kaito said finally. "Ok, so why don't you wanna get into a relationship?" Megan asked, right to the point.

"I'm uh… I'm a robot." Kaito said hesitantly, Megan looked at Kaito dumbfounded. "What?" Megan asked Kaito, Kaito repeated himself again.

"You want proof?" Kaito asked Megan, she nodded. Kaito sat down and took his fake feet off, Megan looked like she was gonna faint.

"Holy shit, you're not bluffing…" Megan said, Kaito put his fake feet back on and stood back up. "Um… I'm not sure how to say this… But, what ARE you, Kaito-san?" Megan asked Kaito. "I'm an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, Unit-037, Model Excalibur. I was made in 1999 by the Kirijo Group… And I was…buried alive, my adoptive mother found me in 2008 and she and her husband adopted me and gave me my name." Kaito said, leaving out the knowledge of the person who buried him, Megan looked at him with an unamused look.

"I thought you said you would be honest with me?" Dang it… "Fine… I just…don't like telling people this, I saw the person who buried me and I'm pretty sure they worked for the Kirijo Group. Other than that, I…don't remember my past…" Kaito said sadly, Megan put her hand on Kaito's shoulder.

"There's something else you aren't telling me. Right?" Megan asked Kaito, the robot started crying. "I…I think that I did something very, VERY bad in the past, Megan-san. And it's like…my past-" Kaito sobbed. "It's like it's haunting me… I got it under control, but I SAW the bastard that did that to be everywhere I looked, I thought I was going mad…" Kaito told Megan, Kaito started sobbing, Megan pulled the robot into a hug. Kaito had never told anyone that, not even his parents. "Hey, it's ok, Kaito-san, it's ok." Megan comforted Kaito, patting the robot on his back.

"There was an explosion that destroyed the Kirijo Group building back then, I…I think that that punk hacked me and caused ME to trigger the explosion…then he buried me and corrupted my memory so I couldn't incriminate him…" Kaito told Megan his deepest fear, the thing that kept him up at night. "I can't do the thing that I love thanks to that bastard denting my head with his shovel eighteen years ago… Hell, I can't even LOOK at someone unless I want my cover to be blown thanks to my gears locking up…" Kaito told Megan quietly, Megan patted Kaito on the back. "You shared your secret with me, so I'll share my secret with you." Megan quietly told Kaito, Kaito felt a tear land on him.

"People called me the 'Bad Luck Minx' back at my old school, every relationship I got into ended with the guy I was dating getting into an accident, the worst case being my last boyfriend, he broke his arm… He heard the rumors about me, I even told him to stay away…" Megan grew quieter as she spoke, Kaito sensed the same pain HE had within Megan. "But he didn't listen… And even after what happened, he still said that he loved me… He didn't break off the relationship, his parents did… THEY'RE the reason my parents moved us here, my parents knew it hurt all of us, but they did the right thing in my opinion…" Megan quietly said, Kaito felt her hug him tighter. "…I'm a monster… And I always will be… I feel like the world would be better off without me, but I'm not that stupid… I KNOW someone wouldn't want me to kill myself…" Megan quietly told Kaito, her voice barely a whisper.

Kaito emphasized with his fellow second-year, he felt for her situation, and…he felt an overwhelming urge to protect her for some reason. "Hey…Megan-san…" Kaito tried to say to Megan, but she stopped him. Giving the two a chance to regain their composure.

"Ok, what did you want to say, Kaito-san?" Megan asked Kaito, Kaito took a breath. "Uh… Can I check for something really quick, I swear I'll explain." Kaito asked, Megan nodded. Kaito pulled out his phone and activated the Persona Potential Sensor app, and his suspicion was confirmed.

"What's up?" Megan asked Kaito, Kaito started shaking his head. "I DID leave something big out of my explanation, BUT lunch is almost over and it'll take some time to explain. Here, I'll give you my chat ID and number, I'll explain later." Kaito explained, he and Megan exchanged numbers and chat ID's and left the rooftop. The rest of the day flew by, Kaito had work today, so he hopped on the train and headed over to Shibuya and entered 'Untouchable', a model weapon shop run by Munehisa Iwai.

"Yo, your late, kid." Iwai told Kaito, Kaito just laughed at his bosses' sense of humor. "SURE I am, boss." Kaito said to Iwai, the middle-aged man chuckled at his young assistant.

Munehisa Iwai had gray hair, a faint stubble, sideburns, and earrings. His gecko tattoo on the lower left of his neck made him even more threatening, and his clothing choice didn't help either. His gray hat with yellow ear defenders, a black turtleneck sweater, a long gray coat with a red peace symbol on it, blue jeans and dark boots combined with his glare made the former yakuza VERY threatening.

"So, anything new going on, boss?" Kaito asked Iwai as he clocked in. "Nothing much, Kaoru was wondering when you'd come by again. He thought I scared you off." Iwai said, Kaito chuckled. "Nah! As if!" Kaito said in response. The bell at the door went off.

"Welcome to Untouchable… Megan-san?!" Kaito spat, why was she here?! "You two know each other?" Iwai asked the two. "We both go to Shujin." Megan told Iwai casually. "I have many questions for you." Kaito said quickly, Megan waved him off. "What? A girl can't get something to defend herself?" Megan asked Kaito, oh…

"Oh… Fair enough." Kaito said. Megan browsed the weapons shelf. "Oooh! I like that!" Megan said, pointing out a spear-like weapon. "Well, that's a fine choice." Iwai said, taking the spear down and handing it to Megan. "2,500-yen, kid." Iwai said, Megan handed Iwai the yen and put the spear in her bag, obviously it couldn't fit in her bag but it was mostly in it. "Thank you! See you at school on Monday Kaito!" Megan said, leaving the shop.

"Huh… Finally bag the one?" Iwai asked Kaito, Kaito's face went cherry red. "NO! we're just friends, Iwai!" Kaito spat, Iwai let out a hearty laugh. "I'm just messing with you, kid." Iwai said. The shift went by rather quick after that. "Whelp, I'll see you on Monday, boss!" Kaito said, clocking out. "Later kid." Iwai said to Kaito. Kaito was about to leave when he heard a voice.

I am thou, thou art I

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the key to break thy chains of sorrow and fear

With the forging of the Hanged Man Persona,

I have obtained the chance to unlock new found strength,

Truth, and freedom for myself and others.

"What in the world?" Kaito thought, was he going mad? Kaito left but shot Mitsuru a text asking her if Aigis and Labrys were free tomorrow, she responded with a yes shortly after Kaito sent her the text. Kaito thanked Mitsuru and went home and straight to bed.

Sunday, April 16th, 2017

_Kaito's POV_

Kaito woke up and checked the P.D.H. Chat for an update, Nanako was improving and should be back in action by tomorrow. Kaito was glad that Nanako was fine and got ready to meet up with his older sisters…man that felt weird to refer to someone like that. Kaito was walking in Shibuya and ran into Megan again. "Hey, you never did give me an explanation, you know." Megan said bluntly. "Oh…ok, I'll give you a quick-" Kaito tried to say, but Megan cut him off.

"NO! I want the full story." Megan demanded. Kaito sighed and agreed to tell her on the way to his destination. Kaito explained Persona's, Shadow's, the 'Inner World', Wild-Cards, hesitantly Igor, Elizabeth, and Max, the Persona Potential Sensor, and that weird voice he heard yesterday to Megan.

"So, I have the potential to gain a Persona?" Megan asked Kaito, Kaito nodded. "But, that also means that you have a 'personal hell' that your Shadow is chained in."

Kaito clarified. Megan looked distraught, Kaito couldn't blame her, he was torn up about it as well.

"Still, that voice referenced the 'Hanged Man', it's a tarot card. I think mine was 'Magician' if I recall correctly, and according to this Igor person, yours is 'Fool' AND 'Death'. And it happened as you were leaving Untouchable?" Megan said, Kaito nodded. "Hold on, let me try something." Megan told Kaito. Megan stopped and held out her hand. "Um…?" Kaito didn't know what to do.

Megan scowled at Kaito. "Shake my hand, dummy!" Megan spat, Kaito shook her hand. "Well friend, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." Megan cheerfully said, Kaito heard the voice again.

I am thou, thou art I

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the key to break thy chains of sorrow and fear

With the forging of the Magician Persona,

I have obtained the chance to unlock new found strength,

Truth, and freedom for myself and others.

"Well? Did the voice pop up again?" Megan asked Kaito, Kaito nodded. "So, I WAS right, I think whenever you befriend someone that falls under a specific tarot card, that voice pops up and tells you the exact card the person falls under." Megan explained, it made sense. "Ok, I gotta go. I'll see you at school tomorrow, Megan-san." Kaito said, the two waved goodbye. Kaito arrived at the Kirijo Group building and, after taking a deep breath, walked in.

"Hello, little brother." Aigis addressed Kaito, Labrys couldn't hold back her laughter. Kaito frowned.

"Alright, you two asked for it! Onii-chan!" Kaito said, crossing his arms. That got them laughing, and eventually Kaito joined in, he couldn't be mad, he WAS their little brother.

Kaito heard barking behind him, and turned around and was tackled by an albino Shiba Inu with red eyes wearing a metal collar, very small angel-esque wings, and a slightly worn out orange jacket. "Hey! Down boy! Stop-" Kaito started laughing. "Your tickling me! S-STOP!" The dog didn't stop licking Kaito.

"Koromaru! Down boy!" Kaito saw a college student call out to the dog, who stopped licking Kaito and got off of him. The college student was a male and wore the uniform for the same college Makoto and Haru were going to, he looked around five foot eight, maybe eighteen years old(?), had brown eyes and stylized medium length brown hair.

Annnd there's the sound of his gears locking up…YAY!

"Huh? Did Koromaru short-circuit something?" The college student asked Kaito, wait, HE KNOWS?! Kaito sighed. "No, If I look at someone's chest my neck locks up. Can you move to the left a ways please, it's the only way to fix the dang thing." Kaito explained, the college student moved out of the way, Kaito's neck unlocked again and he got up. "Sorry about that, I'm guessing you know who I am?" Kaito asked the college student, the student nodded.

"Yes, Labrys accidentally brought you up. I'm Ken Amada, the dog's name is Koromaru. It's nice to meet you, do you prefer Excalibur or Kaito?" Amada-senpai asked Kaito. "I personally prefer Kaito, but Excalibur is fine too, it's nice to meet you and Koromaru. And do you go to school with Makoto Nijima and Haru Okumura, Amada-senpai?" Kaito asked Amada-senpai, who looked shocked. "Yes, I do actually. And you can call me Ken, by the way." Ken said, Kaito nodded, turned to Labrys (who was whistling) and crossed his arms.

"Really Sis? Really?" Kaito asked Labrys. "HA! See, I told ya Excalibur would come around!" Labrys tried to change the topic, but Kaito's glare stopped her.

"Heh, heh… Sorry little bro, it uh… just came out and uh, theotherswantedtomeetyou!" Labrys quickly said, wait, others?

"Yeah, Junpei said that he would be here soon, so did Yukari. Mitsuru is on her way down with Fuuka, and Akihiko said he should be here by three at the latest." Ken explained, wait. Junpei?

"Junpei? Junpei Iori?" Kaito asked Ken, he nodded. "My adoptive father watches the little league all the time, he really looks up to Junpei's talent as a coach." Kaito explained.

Speak of the devil.

"Yo! Ken-kun! Is the new guy here?" Junpei-san asked Ken. Junpei Iori was wearing an aqua blue suit, black baseball shoes, a dagger necklace, his signature backwards cap, his signature grown out dark buzzcut hair, grayish eyes, and a goatee. He looked around five foot eleven. "Yes, Junpei-san. He's right here." Labrys said, Junpei-san looked at Kaito and smiled. "Wow! It's nice to meet you…uh, Kaito-kun or Excalibur-san?" Junpei-san asked Kaito. "I'm fine with both but I prefer Kaito." Kaito explained, Junpei-san nodded. "Alright! Name's Junpei Iori, by the way." Junpei-san said, Kaito laughed.

"Yeah, I know who you are, Junpei-san. My adoptive father LOVES watching the little league on tv, he really admires your coaching abilities. Man, if he knew that I met you, he'd lose it!" Kaito said, Junpei-san started laughing. "Well then! It's good to have some fans. I might just have to meet him." Junpei-san said cheerfully.

"Come on Stupei! Now's not the time for this, we're here to meet Aigis and Labrys's sibling!" Kaito saw a woman walk in, she had neck-length light brown hair, brown eyes, looked around five foot five, wore a pink top with white lace design, light navy collar short jacket, light beige short shorts, and brown high heel boots. "Oh, come on Yuka-tan! I'm just saying that because his dad's a fan of me!" Junpei-san pouted, Kaito guessed they were friends.

"Sorry about Stupei over here. It's nice to meet you, Kaito-kun! I'm Yukari Takaba, I've known Aigis since my high school days." Yukari-san explained, holding out her hand to Kaito. "It's nice to meet you, Yukari-san! And you as well, Junpei-san!" Kaito said, shaking Yukari-san's hand. "Wow! He really is as polite as you guys said he was!" Ken chimed in, Koromaru barking cheerfully.

"Ah, you're here, Kaito-kun." Kaito turned around and saw Mitsuru and a woman that Kaito assumed was Fuuka walking up to the group. Mitsuru was wearing a black business suit like she was when Kaito first met her. And Fuuka had teal-blue hair that was braided to the front, she wore a white-colored sundress with sleeves, black tights, and boots. Mitsuru looked around five foot seven, while Fuuka looked around five foot three.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Kaito-kun! I'm Fuuka Yamagishi." Fuuka-san introduced herself, bowing to Kaito and after holding out her hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Fuuka-san!" Kaito said, shaking Fuuka-san's hand, NOT AGAIN!? "Whoa! Are you ok, Kaito-kun!" Fuuka-san asked Kaito, Kaito sighed. "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry you had to learn about my glitch though, I swear I'm not being a perv, my neck locks up when I see someone's chest, regardless of gender. The only thing that's excluded is animals. Can you back up a bit, Fuuka-san? It's the only way to fix it." Kaito explained, Fuuka-san nodded and backed up.

Man, Kaito REALLY hated his robotic body sometimes.

"Hm… Interesting…" Mitsuru looked perplexed by Kaito's glitch. "Wait, since you're taller than most people, how do you avoid looking at their chest's?" Junpei-san asked Kaito. "It's simple, look at where my eyes are focusing." Kaito said, he looked at Junpei-san. Junpei-san looked confused, then he realized what Kaito was doing.

"Oh! You're looking at my hat! Which means you focus on people's hair and not their eyes, right?" Junpei-san guessed, Kaito nodded. "But why do you have the glitch in the first place?" Yukari-san asked Kaito. "All I'm gonna say is this, it's because of a VERY specific event in my past. If my hunch is right, you all should know what this event is in the coming months." Kaito said cryptically, he knew that he sounded VERY suspicious but he didn't want to tell them.

"Jeez, cryptic much?" Junpei-san said. "I know that's weird coming from me, but trust me. Once you guys learn what I'm hiding, you'll understand." Kaito cryptically said again.

"I assume it has too do with your disappearance from the facility?" Mitsuru asked Kaito, Kaito nodded. "I'll say this much, it has EVERYTHING to do with my disappearance, but I wasn't safe, even though I escaped the explosion." Kaito said, tears in his eyes.

Ken stared at Kaito, it was like he was staring into his very soul. "Hm…" Ken was staring at Kaito, why did it feel like Ken knew Kaito's pain? Or at least something similar?

"Well, it's gonna be a while until Aki gets here." Yukari-san said sadly.

Wait, why did Fuuka-san gasp?

"M-Mitsuru-san! Kaito's a-" Fuuka-san quietly said, hm? Kaito's a what? "I know, Yamagishi-chan." Mitsuru said, why did she cross her arms?

"Mind explaining yourself, Kaito-kun?" Mitsuru said, Kaito was confused. "Uh, explain what?" Kaito said, why were Junpei-san, Yukari-san, Fuuka-san, and Ken crossing their arms as well?

"**Mitsuru, may I execute him now?**" Kaito nearly activated his jet boosters again when a VERY threatening female voice said that next to Mitsuru. "No, Artemisia, no executing. Kaito-kun must not have sensed you. And why do you have an Envoker, Kaito-kun?" Mitsuru told her Persona, nuts…

"Uhm… WELL THEN… I uh…I kind-of got a Persona since we last met." Kaito said, he was terrified of Artemisia, he couldn't SEE her, but that doesn't mean that she isn't there.

And he didn't want this 'execution' she was talking about either.

"**HEY! Lay a hand on Excalibur, Artemisia and you'll regret it!**" Another female voice scolded Artemisia, Kaito looked over at Labrys and Aigis, did they have Persona's too? "As I've already said, no executions will occur! Now Kaito-kun, the Envoker?" Mitsuru demanded.

"This is how I summon my Persona, I'm guessing you guys use a similar method?" Kaito said, Mitsuru nodded. "But why does Kaito-kun use an Envoker? Aigis doesn't use one." Yukari-san asked, another female voice answered her question.

"**Yukari, Aigis awakened to her Persona when OUR method was the only way. And Labrys uses the Investigation Team's summoning method, it's not entirely unreasonable for Excalibur to use an Envoker to summon his Persona.**" The female voice explained, Yukari-san nodded. "But why do I get the feeling that Kaito-kun is still hiding something?" Junpei-san said, nuts!

"Ugh, FINE… There is something else." Kaito sighed, oh boy, this wasn't going to end well.

"Well, what is it?" Ken asked Kaito. Kaito started nervously laughing. "I uh… I'mpartofateamofpotentialPersonausers!" Kaito spat, the groups eyes went wide.

"You're what!" Mitsuru spat, Kaito KNEW that was gonna happen.

"**Jesus Christ Mitsuru, are you TRYING to scare him off?!**" A male voice next to Ken spat. "Amada, get your Persona in line!" Mitsuru spat, was…was Kaito's vision getting fuzzy? Mitsuru stalked over to Kaito, glaring at him with murderous intent.

Like…like when HE…!

Kaito started shaking, no, nonononono!

"Mitsuru-san, you're scaring him!" Fuuka-san said, suddenly, Kaito was back in that hole, with that bastard glaring down at him.

"_DIIIIIEEE!?"_ Kaito started screaming, what…WHAT IS THIS?!

"Kaito-kun? Kaito-kun!? Calm down!" Kaito HEARD Junpei-san, but all Kaito saw was dirt.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!?" Kaito screamed and grabbed his Envoker. "**Excalibur! It's ok, your safe!**" A female voice said, Kaito wasn't listening, he put his Envoker to the back of his head. "Thanatos, Door of Hades!" Kaito screamed as he pulled the trigger.

"**Sure thing…Huh? Um, Kaito? These aren't Shadows?**" Thanatos said. "KILL HIM! I'M NOT GOING BACK!? KILL HIM! KILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIM!?" Kaito screamed, he felt a hand on his shoulder and lost it.

"NO!? YOU BASTARD!? YOU'RE NOT BURYING ME THIS TIME!?" Kaito slapped the hand away, pulled out Excalibur, and started swinging blindly.

"What the? Caesar! Skull Crusher!" A male voice shouted, Kaito heard a gunshot, and felt a weight land on his head.

Then, it was lights out.

"…Really, Mitsuru, you just HAD to make him have a panic attack?" The male voice from earlier said, Kaito slowly regained consciousness.

"Ow… What the heck happened…?" Kaito asked, Mitsuru walked over to him and…bowed? "I apologize for my actions, Kaito-kun. But I assure you that I meant you no harm, in fact, you could say I sparked your fire to gain the truth." Mitsuru explained, NOW Kaito was mad.

"Are. You. Kidding. Me!? You KNEW that would happen?!" Kaito spat, he felt that he was in a bed, but he was about to spring off of it and slap Mitsuru when he saw a shadow of someone leaning over him.

Kaito turned his head around and saw a man around six feet tall, a black beanie, unkempt brown hair, steel-colored eyes, a maroon peacoat, black pants, and brown Chelsea shoes glaring at him. "Look, you can be pissed at Mitsuru. But for crying out loud, lie down and do so." The man told Kaito, Kaito reluctantly did as the man said and laid back down.

"No, Kaito-kun, I didn't know THAT would happen. If I did, I would of went about it a different way." Mitsuru explained, Kaito could tell she was being honest. Kaito sighed. "Fine… Sorry about that." Kaito said, Mitsuru shook her head. "No, I'M the one who should be apologizing, Kaito-kun." Mitsuru said, bowing to him again.

"Still… What the heck happened to me?" Kaito asked Mitsuru. "If I had to guess, you suffered something similar to a PTSD event." Mitsuru theorized, it explained HOW it happened, but now Kaito was going to have to spill the beans.

"Let me guess, you want to know what happened to me?" Kaito asked the adults, they nodded. Kaito sighed. "Ok, I'll explain what I remember. BUT! I would like to be introduced to everyone else first, and for everyone to be here when I explain what I know, I REALLY don't wanna repeat myself regarding this event." Kaito said, the adults nodded.

"Fine, I guess you should know who sent a weight crashing into your head. I'm Akihiko Sanada, it's nice to meet you properly, Kaito-kun." Akihiko-san said to Kaito. He was wearing a light gray suit with a black collar shirt, he was five foot ten, short silver hair, and gray eyes. "Same to you, Akihiko-san." Kaito said. "I'm Shinjiro Aragaki, you can thank me for stopping your Persona from kicking Aki's ass." Shinjiro-san said to Kaito.

"**HEY! I didn't know what was happening!**" Thanatos spat defensively. "It's nice to meet you, Shinjiro-san. And in Thanatos's defense, I wasn't in my right mind when it happened, so I really couldn't tell him what was happening." Kaito said, OW!

"HEY! What was that for, Metal Mask!?" Kaito spat at Thanatos, who had smacked him for some reason. "**'Metal Mask'? Really? And THAT was for worrying me, you uh…um…**" Thanatos spat, failing at calling Kaito a name.

"Jeez, are you two done?" Shinjiro-san sighed, Kaito and his Persona looked at each other and started nervously laughing. "You two are just like Aki and Shinjiro!" Yukari-san said, Akihiko lightly punched her.

"Now Aki, be nice. Yukari was just messing around." A female voice said, Kaito looked to his left and saw a woman that was five foot six, had auburn hair that was in a high ponytail, red eyes, silver barrettes forming the roman numeral for twenty-two, a pale complexion, and wore a cherry red dress, with an orange bow, and orange sandals.

"It's nice to meet you, Kaito-kun. I'm Minako Arisato." Minako-san said cheerfully to Kaito, bowing to him. "Same to you too, Minako-san." Kaito said.

"Ok, that's…mostly everyone that are part of the Shadow Operatives, the others are reserve members from another team of Persona users and they don't know about you." Mitsuru explained, Kaito nodded and sighed. "Ok…where do you want me to start?" Kaito asked Mitsuru.

"Do you remember the explosion?" Mitsuru asked Kaito, how could he NOT? "I DO remember it, granted vaguely. All I know for certain is…" Kaito stopped, Minako-san put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok, Kaito-kun. Take your time." Minako-san told Kaito, Kaito took a second to compose himself.

"I… I saw a woman, lying face down on the floor. And I was being dragged somewhere by…HIM…!" Kaito said scornfully, his hands curling into fists. "Doctor Mika Kyoko, that must be who you saw." Mitsuru theorized, why did Mika Kyoko sound familiar?

"Why does her name sound familiar?" Kaito asked Mitsuru. "She was your creator, or at least the person who designed and supervised your creation among other Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons." Mitsuru answered, so…SHE was the person who gave Kaito his hat…

Maybe she could make him a new one? He didn't know where the one he had went.

"So…uh… What happened next? You were uh…screaming about someone burying you." Junpei-san hesitantly asked Kaito, Kaito couldn't blame Junpei-san, it wasn't a fond memory to recall… "From there, HE drove me to a field where HE had a…hole prepped for me. And HE… Well…you all can guess what happened next…" Kaito said sadly, the adults nodded, Aigis and Labrys were EXTREMELY distraught about what happened to him.

"Damn… What kind of monster would bury someone who was essentially a baby?" Akihiko-san seethed, Kaito could tell that even though he just met Kaito, Akihiko-san cared greatly about him. "Do ya know the punks name?" Labrys asked Kaito, oh boy…

"Well…I did remember that bastards name. But I'm not so sure you'll believe me…" Kaito said sadly, Shinjiro-san scoffed. "Try us." Shinjiro-san said, Kaito sighed and nodded.

"Ok… His name was… Shuji Ikutsuki." Kaito whispered, he started crying.

The adults gasped and just…stared at Kaito.

"W-What…?" Mitsuru stammered out, Kaito figured that they wouldn't believe him. But what Junpei-san did next shattered Kaito's false conclusion.

"That bastard did THAT!" Junpei-san yelled, Kaito shrank back, Junpei-san quickly regained his composure. "S-Sorry, Kaito-kun. I, no, WE have, or HAD, a score to settle with him." Junpei-san explained, did Ikutsuki DO something to them?

"Ikutsuki tricked us when we were high schoolers into almost bringing the end of the world, but you don't need to worry, Kaito-kun, Ikutsuki died back in 2009." Mitsuru explained, Kaito was relieved. "Did you confirm it?" Kaito asked, Mitsuru nodded her head.

"Heh, bastard got his just desserts then." Kaito seethed. "Kaito-kun?" Fuuka-san put her hand on Kaito's shoulder.

"I'll be honest, I was hoping he was still alive so he could get tried for what he did…!" Kaito seethed, the adults gasped again, Kaito's violent side wasn't pretty.

"Wow, SOMEONE'S got anger issues…" Akihiko-san said. "Sorry, Ikutsuki is in the same bin as Kamo-Shit Head. So sorry, I'm not kind to them…" Kaito spat, Mitsuru looked concerned by Kaito's outburst, same with the others.

"'Kamo-Shit Head'? Are you referring to Suguru Kamoshida?" Mitsuru asked, Kaito nodded. "That bastard is JUST as bad as Shuji, if not worse." Kaito seethed, Mitsuru looked like she knew what that glorified bastard did.

"Sorry, but can I go? Now I'm in a bad mood and the LAST thing you all want to see is me when I'm pissed, and I mean REALLY pissed." Kaito said, Mitsuru nodded. After figuring out another date to hang out with the Shadow Operatives, Kaito said his goodbye's and decided to walk around Shibuya for a bit.

"Hm…" Kaito was deep in thought when he ran into someone.

"HEY! Watch where you're going, dumbass!" A female student spat at him. "Sorry! I was lost in thought, my bad." Kaito said, the girl didn't accept the apology.

"Lier! I bet you just wanted to get a peek or something!" The girl spat, WHAT!

"No, no, no! It was an accident that I ran into you, I swear!" Kaito retorted, the girl didn't believe him AGAIN! What was her problem?!

"I should report you!" The girl hissed, Kaito was genuinely scared.

"HEY! What's going on here?" Kaito turned around and saw Megan running up to him. "This PERVERT wanted a peek at me!" The girl spat, Megan looked unamused. "I happen to know Kaito and he doesn't even have a GIRLFRIEND! And you're telling me that he's a perv? Sorry, but no." Megan scolded the girl. The girl scoffed at them and left.

"THANK YOU!" Kaito quietly said to Megan, Megan smiled at him. "No problem, the second I heard 'pervert' my BS sensor went off." Megan said, Kaito sighed in relief. "Sooo… What are YOU doing out here in Shibuya?" Megan asked Kaito. "I got done visiting and I guess I just wanted to walk around for a bit before heading home." Kaito explained, AND THERE'S THAT LOOK AGAIN!

"Did something happen?" Megan asked Kaito, he sighed and nodded.

"Yeah…something BIG happened…" Kaito reluctantly said, Megan looked like she sensed his uneasiness. "Hey, call me weird, but maybe you can tell me at your place?" Megan proposed, WHAT! "I uh…! I'm not so sure that would be a good idea…" Kaito said, Megan nodded and assumed a thinking pose.

"Well… How about we go to Yongen-Jaya at least, you probably wanna get home soon, right? I know a place where we can talk. And I live over there anyway." Megan proposed, she had a point, so Kaito agreed.

"So, you brought a plus one today." An older man said to Megan as she and Kaito sat down at one of the café's booth tables. "Yep, he's a friend from school." Megan told the man, he chuckled a little.

"That reminds me of a certain tenant I had last year, his friends came over to hang out during last years summer." The man remanences, Kaito heard a familiar voice laughing from the kitchen area behind the bar.

"'Certain tenant'? Really 'Coffee Dad'?" Kurusu-senpai mused from the kitchen, the man laughed.

"Damnit Akira! I thought you said you wouldn't say that during business hours!" The man jokingly scolded Kurusu-senpai. The door opened, and Kaito heard two people gasp.

"Aw! That's SUCH a cute kitty! What's his name? Or her name, not sure of the gender." Megan quickly said, WELL… This was about to get weird…

"Mamori-senpai? What are you going here?" Futaba-chan demanded, Morgana leaped onto the table and got in Kaito's face.

"Futaba's right, why are you here?" Morgana demanded, Megan looked confused. "Does the cat not like you, Kaito-san?" Megan asked, to her, Morgana was just meowing at him.

"Let's just say that Mona and I really aren't on the best terms…" Kaito answered, Morgana looked like he was about to scratch Kaito.

"You bet we're NOT on good terms! You LIED about not knowing about the 'Inner World' AND you're an amateur AND you're fishy as all hell!" Morgana hissed, Kaito just sighed.

"Now Mona, be nice." Kurusu-senpai said, walking out of the kitchen area and into view. "Huh? Why are you acting like Mona just talked?" Megan asked, Kurusu-senpai walked over and picked Morgana up.

"Akira, what the hell! I'm not done interrogating him!" Morgana hissed, Kurusu-senpai shook his head.

"Sorry about Morgana, he's not used to Kaito yet." Kurusu-senpai said, Morgana hissed in detest, but he couldn't get out of Kurusu-senpai's grasp.

"So, the usual for you, Megan-chan?" Kurusu-senpai asked Megan, she nodded. Kurusu-senpai turned to Kaito. "Do you like coffee and curry, Kaito-kun?" Kurusu-senpai asked. "I personally haven't had coffee or curry, I'll try it though." Kaito answered, Kurusu-senpai smiled and went back into the kitchen.

After a few minutes, Kurusu-senpai came out with two plates of curry. "Gimme a sec for the coffee, you two." Kurusu-senpai said as he gave the plates to Megan and Kaito.

"We're not done, Kaito!" Morgana hissed, Megan laughed while Kaito obviously sighed. "Mona, I know you don't like Mamori-senpai yet, but at least try to be nice for now." Futaba-chan told Morgana. Morgana pouted but complied. Kaito pulled out his phone and shot Megan a text.

Kaito: "_Hey, I can't talk about what happened today r n._" Megan pulled out her phone, she looked perplexed.

Megan: "_Why?_"

Kaito: "_They don't know about me being a robot._"

Megan: "_Oh…_" Megan and Kaito both put their phones away, Futaba-chan looked puzzled, but didn't say anything.

"Alright, coffee's done." Kurusu-senpai said, putting two cups on the table Megan and Kaito were sitting at. "Thank you, Kurusu-senpai." Kaito said, Kurusu-senpai smiled. Megan and Kaito ate in mostly silence.

"Man, why have I not heard of this place! Seriously, this stuff is AWESOME!" Kaito said, he would DEFINATLY be coming back. "Well, looks like you've gotten another customer, Boss." Megan cheerfully said, the older man laughed. "I guess so."

Kaito was about to get his wallet to pay, but Megan told him she would pay. "Thanks for the gesture, Kaito, but I'll pay." Megan said, Kaito reluctantly agreed.

"Ooooh! Are you two dating?" Futaba-chan asked, Kaito's face went cherry red. "No, we're just friends." Megan said, Kurusu-senpai looked skeptical. "Are you sure? Makoto and I texted each other to avoid the others finding out about us dating." Kurusu-senpai said, wait, WHAT!

"Hold on! Makoto Nijima, right?" Kaito asked Kurusu-senpai, he nodded. "YOU'RE dating Nijima-senpai!?" Kaito spat, he knew that Nijima-senpai got a boyfriend last year, but out of everyone, Kurusu-senpai was her boyfriend?!

"Yeah, our group was shocked when they came out and told us." Futaba-chan explained. "So, are you keeping it a secret or what?" Kurusu-senpai asked Megan and Kaito, Kaito sighed.

"Ok, fine. IF I were to get into a relationship, key word IF, I would probably get into one with Megan. THERE, happy?" Kaito reluctantly spat, Megan's eyes went wide.

"Wait, really?! ME? Out of who knows how many girls, you would pick me?" Megan spat, Kaito nodded.

"I mean, I AM a bad luck magnet." Kaito said, smirking.

Megan started laughing. "REAL subtle, Kaito." Megan said.

"And Kurusu-senpai and Futaba-chan? Please don't tell Ryuji about this, he'll never leave me alone about it if you do." Kaito pleaded, Kurusu-senpai and Futaba-chan nodded. And with that, Megan and Kaito left Café Leblanc.

"Huh, why the hell did Morgana keep pestering that kid Megan-chan brought along?" The older man asked Akira, who sighed.

"Mona doesn't trust Kaito-kun, he thinks that Kaito-kun's all sorts of fishy for some reason." Akira explained, Morgana hissed at him.

"He SCREAMS suspicious, Joker! He's a Persona user, according to Ryuji, no one knows his past, AND he has freaking THANATOS already! Not to mention he's probably a Wild-Card AND the leader of his own team of potential Persona users, MOST OF WHICH WHOM WE KNOW!" Morgana explained, Futaba translated for Sojiro Sakura, her adoptive father.

"Hm… Well, maybe he just wants to keep his past to himself." Sojiro theorized, Futaba shook her head.

"Nope. I couldn't see what Mamori-senpai was texting to Toko-senpai, but I think I can guess what it was, or at least WHY he texted it and didn't say it out loud." Futaba said. "Well, what is it?" Morgana asked Futaba.

"He's running from his past. No one, not even Mamori-senpai himself knows it, but he is DEFINATLY running from it. I think that he has some sort of trauma from his past, Haru said that Mamori-senpai LOVES gardening, but he NEVER does it EXCEPT online. And he looks at people's hair, not their eyes, so he could very well have some sort of trauma that manifests when he looks at someone's chest or something. And on top of that, he has this haunted look in his eyes, you can't see it unless you look closely, but it's there. So, SOMETHING happened in Mamori-senpai's past, but no one knows WHAT." Futaba explained, Akira looked concerned, and Morgana looked guilty.

"Jeez, that explains some of Kaito's suspicious behavior. But I still feel like we're missing something BIG." Morgana said, Futaba and Akira nodded.

"Hm… I wonder…" Sojiro murmured. "Hm?" Futaba turned to her dad.

"Tae told me that one of her friends at an adoption agency had a strange request from a friend of theirs nine years ago, I think I might just go and ask her for more details." Sojiro explained. Akira was genuinely intrigued and worried about his underclassmen.

"Kaito Mamori… Just what are you running from…?"

Monday, April 17th, 2017

_Nanako's POV_

Nanako woke up and got ready for school. "Already up and at 'em Nanako?" Ryotaro Dojima asked his daughter.

"Yep, I got out of school because I couldn't get up, so I kind-of have to be up and at 'em." Nanako explained, her dad laughed. Nanako hugged her dad, told him goodbye, and was about to leave when she heard a voice.

I am thou, thou art I

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the key to break thy chains of sorrow and fear

With the forging of the Hierophant Persona,

I have obtained the chance to unlock new found strength,

Truth, and freedom for myself and others.

"What the?" Nanako thought to herself while she walked to the train station, what was that voice?

_Kaito's POV_

Kaito woke up, did his usual routine, and got to school. Lunch rolled around, and Megan again joined Mishima and Kaito.

"So, you two got any plans after school today?" Megan asked Mishima and Kaito, Mishima didn't but Kaito had work today. "Man, how about tomorrow?" Megan asked them, they were both free then at the moment.

"Ok, do you two wanna go hang out somewhere tomorrow then?" Megan asked, the two nodded. With that, lunch ended rather quickly as did school.

Kaito walked into Untouchable, clocked in, and sat down at his station.

"Hey boss!" Kaito said to Iwai, Iwai said nothing back. Kaito was kind-of scared when Iwai got up, walked over to the door, and flipped the sign to closed. "Uhm…boss?" Kaito was worried, Iwai didn't usually act like this unless something serious was going on.

"Look, kid. Somethings been bothering me about you. You never look anyone in the eye, you're a little TOO polite, and I can tell that you're hiding something, nothing bad, but something pretty damn big. Care to explain?" Iwai asked Kaito, how did he…!

"…Ok, fine…" Kaito reluctantly said, Kaito gave Iwai a summary of what he was and what was happening as of late.

"Hm… So, THAT'S why you're so fishy…" Iwai took a minute to process what Kaito told him. "Well, thanks for being honest with me, kid." Iwai finally said, Kaito was relieved that Iwai didn't kick him out or say he was lying.

"I'm glad that I can finally be honest with you, boss." Kaito said, Iwai chuckled. "Heh, don't worry, kid. I'm not gonna blab about you, it's the least I can do for you since you've helped me out around here so much." Iwai told Kaito, Kaito wasn't really worried about that.

"Thanks boss." Kaito said to Iwai. "Ok, back to work, kid." Iwai told Kaito, flipping the sign back to open.

Kaito saluted Iwai. "Roger that, boss!" Kaito said, Iwai just laughed. Kaito heard that same strange voice again.

I am thou, thou art I

Thou have forged the key to thy chains

With the release of the Hanged Man

I have unlocked the way to new found strength

Truth, and freedom for myself and others.

"What in the? That's new." Kaito thought to himself, what the heck was that voice talking about? The shift went by quick, Kaito said goodbye to Iwai and made his way to the train station.

Kaito was almost at the station when someone grabbed him and spun him around.

"Hey! What the-" Kaito tried to resist, but whoever grabbed him had a vice-like grip.

"You are NOT getting away this time!" That same schoolgirl from yesterday spat.

"What the heck! I told you yesterday, it. Was. An. Accident!" Kaito spat, the girl didn't believe him ONCE AGAIN!

"Sure, then why aren't you looking me in the eye?" The girl hissed.

"I don't like looking people in the eye, ok?! I CAN, but I don't like to. Can I go now?" Kaito spat, he didn't want to miss his train. The girl scoffed, but let him go.

"Seriously, what is her problem?!" Kaito thought to himself as he was riding the train to Yongen-Jaya.

The girl didn't know WHAT to think anymore. "Excalibur… Why don't you recognize me…?"

Tuesday, April 18th, 2017

_Kaito's POV_

Kaito woke up, did his usual routine, and got to school in record time. School ended quickly, and then Kaito met up with Megan and Mishima-senpai.

"So, what do you guys wanna do?" Megan asked Mishima-senpai and Kaito.

"Hm… I don't know, actually." Mishima-senpai mumbled, Kaito didn't know what to do either.

"Why don't we just walk around for a bit, maybe we'll come up with something." Kaito suggested, Megan and Mishima-senpai nodded in agreement.

The three decided to walk around Shibuya until someone thought of what they could do. "Oh god, not her again…" Megan sighed, Kaito looked and saw that schoolgirl AGAIN. "Hm? Again?" Mishima-senpai asked them, Kaito gave him a brief summary. "Oh…" Mishima-senpai slowly said, and HERE WE GO AGAIN!

"Look, I just wanna-" The girl tried to say, but Kaito wasn't having it. "LOOK! It was an accident. END. OF. STORY. Please leave me alone!" Kaito spat, the girl gasped and slapped him.

"Hey! What the hell!" Mishima-senpai spat, the girl grabbed Kaito's arm and dragged him away.

"HEY! What is your problem?!" Kaito hissed, why was the girl crying?

"Stop it! Why are you PRETENDING not to know me?!" The girl spat, turning into a sobbing mess.

"Hold on, DO I know you? Or are you mistaking me for someone else?" Kaito said, the girl just cried harder and then ran away… "Ok…? What the heck was THAT about?" Kaito was really confused, did he know her? Or was she mistaking him for someone else?

"Kaito!" Megan and Mishima-senpai caught up to him, Kaito told them what happened. "Huh? DO you know her and not remember?" Megan asked Kaito, he shrugged. "Maybe…? I'm honestly not sure." Kaito said.

The three kept walking around Shibuya for a while longer. But it eventually got too late and they had to head back home to get their homework done.

Megan and Kaito said goodbye to Mishima-senpai, and got on the train bound for Yongen-Jaya. "Do you think you knew her in the past, Kaito?" Megan asked Kaito. "I guess that could be a possibility…" Kaito answered Megan. The two said their goodbyes and went to their homes.

Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

_Kaito's POV_

Kaito woke up, did his routine again, and got to school. School got out, but Mishima-senpai pulled Kaito aside as he was leaving.

"Hey, I think we should go to the Inner World today." Mishima-senpai said, Kaito was confused at his upperclassman's outburst. "I mean, we CAN… We may as well get a map made for there." Kaito said. Kaito sent the word out, and soon enough the other P.D.H. members arrived.

Nanako and Shinya arrived first, Suzui-senpai arrived next, and then Hifumi got there last. "Alright, everyone's here. Let's go!" Kaito said, pressing the 'Inner World' app. The group arrived in the Inner World.

"**Ok, question? WHY ARE YOU ALL HERE?! Seriously! Out of EVERYWHERE you all could enter at, you enter HERE?!**" Thanatos demanded, what was…OH.

Kaito turned around, and saw a…strip club (Gross!) with the phrase 'Swan Dive Strip' on a nearby sign.

"What…? A… A strip club…?" Suzui-senpai stammered out, why was she shaking so hard?

Wait…NO…!

"H-Hey, you guys don't think that…" Kaito didn't even have to finish the sentence, the others already knew.

The 'Swan Dive Strip' must be Shiho Suzui's personal hell.

"Well… L-Looks like we found mine, s-so… A-Are we g-going in…?" Suzui-senpai asked the group. Kaito shook his head, much to the other's shock.

"No, I don't think we should take on your personal hell right now. I mean, LOOK at it! This is MUCH grander than 'Heaven', and I would guess that makes it more dangerous." Kaito explained, the other's nodded in agreement.

"O-Ok, s-so what's the plan for today…?" Suzui-senpai asked Kaito. "I think we should explore the 'Inner World' for a bit and make a map of the place. If I had to guess, all of us here have a personal hell SOMEWHERE in this place. We've found Nanako's, Shiho's, and Shinya's already… So that leaves Yuuki's Hifumi's, and myself. And it's most likely not just us that have personal hells here." Kaito explained, the other's nodded in agreement.

The only other person Kaito knew for sure had a personal hell was Megan, but he would cross that bridge when necessary.

"Alright, so where should we get-" Mishima-senpai tried to say as he was cut off by someone above them laughing.

Kaito looked up, and saw something that DEFINATLY shouldn't be there.

A HUGE floating castle-like structure with vines and moss-covered stones making up the building, and a hologram of Yuuki Mishima's face, with yellow eyes, bruises covered his face, and he had a bandage on his right cheek floating RIGHT ABOVE THEM.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" Mishima-senpai shouted, Kaito heard mechanical noises, and saw a mechanical hand straight out of a sci-fi movie extend out and grab Mishima-senpai.

"H-HEY! Put me down!" Mishima-senpai shouted, the hologram of his Shadow laughed at him.

"_**Does someone need a reminder WHO'S the warden around here?!**_" Shadow Yuuki spat, 'Warden'? What was the Shadow talking about? "GUYS! HELP!?" Mishima-senpai hissed, Kaito snapped back to reality and tried to sick Thanatos on the mechanical arm, but the Shadow turned to look at him and just smirked.

"_**Really, Kaito-kun? HEEL!**_" The Shadow spat, Kaito got NAILED with fire, he didn't CATCH fire, thank GOD, but it hurt like heck! "Kaito!" Mishima-senpai shouted, Kaito could only watch as his friend was taken into the structure.

"Dang it…" Kaito seethed, he just sat there and WATCHED his upperclassman and one of his best friends get abducted by their OWN Shadow. "Kaito, we'll get him back." Suzui-senpai told Kaito, Kaito nodded.

"**You kids fall back for now, I'll look for a way inside in the meantime. I'll tell Kaito and he'll let you kids know what I find.**" Thanatos said, the P.D.H. nodded and left the 'Inner World', while Thanatos flew up to the castle-like structure and began analyzing it for an entry point.

A cloaked figure saw movement through the bars of his prison cell window. It walked over and saw a Persona analyzing the building. "That sure as hell isn't one of the others Persona's… Could there be other Persona users besides the current known ones? Hmm…" The cloaked figure spoke in a male voice, but it wasn't human…

Not FULLY anymore, at least.

"Maybe… Just maybe…"

_Nanako's POV_

Nanako pulled out her phone and called her dad. "Hey Nanako, what's up?" Her father asked Nanako, Nanako took a deep breath.

"Dad, please just listen and don't ask any questions." Nanako told her father, Nanako heard her father gasp.

"Nanako… Fine, I'm listening." Nanako explained the P.D.H.'s situation regarding Mishima-senpai.

"Hm… It's just like what happened back then…" Nanako's father said.

"Can you help me and my friends out on the law side, dad?" Nanako asked her father.

"…I can't guarantee anything, but I'll try." Nanako thanked her father, and she went home for the night.


	7. An Apology

**A Serious Author's Note**

**Hi, before I begin, yes, I'm literally going to copy paste this note in all three of my stories.**

**CALL ME LAZY ALL YOU LIKE.**

**BUT! The message here is genuine!**

* * *

**Ok, so I should start by saying where I've been all this time. I've…been dealing with two things specifically: School and…my grandpa's passing.**

**If you've seen my Splatoon story, you would note that on the last chapter that I was taking a break due to life issues. That chapter was posted three days before my grandpa passed.**

**I wanted to remove myself because…I didn't want to have you guys deal with the 'fallout' of emotions from me.**

**I know it sounds strange, but that's my reason. To be perfectly honest, I wanted to separate my personal problems from my stories on this platform.**

**I guess to make a Persona reference, I wanted to wear a mask when I was on here to hide my own problems from people reading my stories.**

**To people reading this, it probably sounds pretty strange, and I mean my reasoning, not the rest of my note.**

**And…I really, REALLY want to apologize about me just vanishing like that with really no explanation, even if you guys don't mind it, I still feel like I should apologize regardless.**

**Going on this platform was probably the best decision I could make, I didn't think that people would like my stories this much, obviously I've been told that I'm an extremely good writer, but I guess I needed input from another source, and the response I've had from my stories says it all.**

**Jeez this note is all over the place… But I guess its like that because I don't really know how to explain this. Heck, to be honest, I kinda feel like I don't deserve it.**

…

…**I'll try from here on out to do better, but I can't make any guarantees about it. Thank you all for reading my stories and for choosing to follow, favorite, and review them. It makes me so freaking happy to see that people like what I write.**

**So…thank you!**

* * *

**Now, onto the makeup for leaving suddenly!**

**I decided that to make it up to you all for leaving, I'll reveal some future events and (POSSIBLY) plot points from my three stories. Or in other words, I'll spoil some details. Leave what you would like me to reveal in a review and, depending on the topic, I'll reveal it!**

**Now, obviously I won't reveal EVERYTHING, and I'll let you know if what you asked me is something I can't spoil. But that is really for very, VERY important events and/or character development.**

**I know that I don't have to do this, but I feel like I HAVE to. But that's just the kind of person I am.**

**Ok, that's it from me. Thank you for reading this and for sticking around!**

**I promise that I'll upload an ACTUAL chapter to all of my stories soon, but I can't make any guarantees about it being soon, I'll try though!**


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